Yo-kai Watch Infinite Loops
by Black Omochao
Summary: What good is a watch in a world where time keeps repeating? Summoning yo-kai? Ok! Nate-Keita... whatever your name is, welcome to the Infinite Loops!
1. Chapter 1

**Joining the infinite loops is Yo-kai Watch! Here's a compilations of the snips for it written by both me, and other people down at the Spacebattles forums. If you want a good explanation of the infinite loops go there-I'll try to give the basics, but I'm not good at this.**

 **Time loops are happening because something is wrong in the multiverse.**

 **Loopers are characters whom are aware of these loops and retain memories between them-they can also retain abilities they gained in different loops.**

 **There are baseline loops which go as the series would until altered by a looper-variants are when there are differences, including fused loops where characters or settings from other universes could appear.**

 **Awake is a term to refer to when the loopers have access to memories of other loops-there is a looper called an Anchor in each loop whom is always awake, other loopers may or may not be awake between loops. There must always be an anchor during a loop-it may not always be the native anchor.**

 **That's about as good as I can explain things. Welcome to the Yo-kai Watch loops.**

 **All copyrighted material is owned by whoever owns it.**

 **1.1**

"Elusive must mean puny," Nate blinked in confusion at Bear's smug tone as he held a large stag beetle, and then looked at the small stag beetle in his hands…

"What the..?" Nate muttered as he looked around at the trees that surrounded the area.

"It's a saw-tooth stag beetle, according to bugwiki Bear caught an insanely large one," Eddie explained while looking at his smartphone. Bear looked over with a look of surprise. Nate just looked weirded out.

"Wait…didn't we already do this?" he questioned quietly, absentmindedly letting his stag beetle fly out of his hand.

"In your face!" Bear gloated at Nate, but frowned with a bit of concerned when he noticed how spaced out his friend looked. "Um…Nate, you there?"

"Hey guys!" Nate looked over as Katie ran over, just like he remembered…

"Hey what are you doing here?" Bear questioned, just like he had the first time.

"Oh, you think bugs are just for boys," Katie good naturedly mocked while Nate mouthed the same words as he predicted them. This was getting way too strange, Nate was now realizing he had somehow jumped back in time. That could only mean one thing…

"This must be a yo-kai's fault," Nate said firmly, turning away from his friends.

"Huh? Nate?" Katie questioned Nate's sudden change in demeanor as he turned away from his friends and held up his left arm, and then stared at his wrist.

"What the-it's not on my wrist!?" Nate's sudden exclamation worried his friends.

"Nate, are you feeling ok?" Eddie questioned.

"Yeah, you seem kind of out of it," Katie added, Nate shook his head for a moment and regained his bearings.

"S-sorry, I'm fine…" Nate looked at their unconvinced faces for a minute before he decided on what action he should take next. "Just you wait Bear, I'll catch something more impressive than that stag beetle!" the sudden exclamation was a surprise to his friends, as was Nate running off into the forest and leaving them in confusion.

.

Nate followed the trail he had the first time until he spotted the glowing beetle, as he had the first time and followed it to that big tree with…

"There it is!" Nate exclaimed at the sight of the krank-a-kai, he quickly ran over to it and inserted a coin before the mysterious voice of Whisper could even start speaking to him. Once he had the capsule in his hands he quickly pulled it open and watched as the trails of light and runes floated through the air and circled in front of him as a familiar ghostly shape took form and gave a sinister laugh.

"What's up my corporeal friend, I am-"

"Whisper!" Nate's sudden interruption caught the yo-kai off guard.

"What…how do you know my name?" Whisper questioned and the two stared at each other for a moment before Whisper regained his composure. "Um, anyway I am a-"

"Yo-kai, I know." Whisper nearly fell over at Nate's declaration. "Look Whisper, I don't know what's going on but believe it or not I've done all of this before! I bet some time traveling yo-kai is at work or something…I hope it's not those evil yo-kai again," Nate muttered that last part before he turned back to Whisper and held out his left arm. "So just give me the Yo-kai Watch so that I can figure out how to fix things."

"…Um, look I'm not really sure how you know all of this stuff, like my name, the Yo-kai Watch, or what yo-kai are. But I assure you there is no time traveling-"

"Yeah, yeah, you've never heard of a time traveling yo-kai!"

After Nate had gotten Whisper to hand over the Yo-kai Watch and he was unable to find any sign of a yo-kai inspiriting him he had tried to explain his position to the white yo-kai. Whisper listened to his story carefully, though he was a tad skeptical.

"So, let me get this straight. You've lived all of this before?" Whisper questioned and Nate nodded.

"Yes, this all happened before. I came here, put a coin into that machine, you come out and then you follow me home and give me the Yo-kai Watch and we…oh, we need to get home and stop Dismarelda!" Whisper still seemed skeptical, but the urgency that Nate spoke with, and a quick look at his yo-kai pad to confirm exactly what Dismarelda could do, convinced him that this warranted immediate attention.

However, when they returned to Nate's home…

"Ah, welcome home Nate," Nate's mother greeted with a blissful smile on her face. Nate stared in confusion as his father walked over and hugged his mother.

"Welcome back son!" he said happily, Nate watched in confusion as his parents hugged and began saying how much they loved each other. This was…not what he was expecting.

"…Well, I don't think you need the Yo-kai Watch to realize there's no Dismarelda here," Whisper said with a bit of smugness as he looked Nate's way.

"B-but, she was here," Nate activated the Yo-kai Watch and shined it into the room, and was soon greeted by the sight of a big, yellow, cloud-like yo-kai. "Happierre!?"

"Oh, you can see moi?" Happierre questioned with his French accent.

As it would turn out, despite the swap of Dismarelda for Happierre. Things were basically the same as Nate remembered; Dismarelda and Happierre had had a fight, but instead of Dismarelda running off Happirre had, and he was inspiriting Nate's parents since they apparently reminded him of himself and his wife.

Thus it was pretty easy to solve it the same way they had the first time, by getting Dismarelda and helping the couple reconcile. Overall pretty much no different than how it had gone down the first time, still…that one difference put Nate on alert for what else could be different this time around, and he still had no idea what had caused this.

However, nothing different of real significance happened after that, Nate used his foreknowledge to his advantage on occasion, but not much was different. Eventually Nate grew unconcerned with how he had jumped back in time and decided to just live his life normally…

.

"That things tiny. Check out this guy!" Kuma said smugly as he held out his large stag beetle to Nate-er-Keita.

"…Wait, what the!?" Keita exclaimed looking around at the familiar scene in confusion. Also confused over his and his friends sudden change in names according to his memories…

 **1.2**

Nate inserted the coin into the Crank-a-Kai and turned the nob.

"And here we go again," He muttered as he picked up the capsule that fell out, he pulled it open with a grunt before a popping sound filled the air, as did smoke. Light flashed and runes flew as the form of a yo-kai became visible to Nate.

"Aw, thanks for freeing me from that cramped thing!" Nate stared at the human-faced dog as he cracked his neck.

"…Manjimutt!?"

.

Nate walked home with his new companion, an uncomfortable silence filling the air.

"So…you're going to be my butler now?" Nate questioned blankly, still trying to process the fact that _Manjimutt_ had somehow replaced Whisper in this…time loop thing that he had stopped questioning after the last one.

"That's correct. You freed me, I am obligated to return the favor to you," Manjimutt replied with a smile, Nate gave an uncomfortable smile back before he just decided to keep walking.

"I'm home!" Nate called as he entered his house-his parents were fighting, as expected. But what was not expected was for them to stop and scream at the sight of what had followed him home.

And that's how Nate learned that everyone could still see Manjimutt.

.

Keita inserted the coin and carefully turned the nob of the Crank-a-Kai. When the capsule popped out he inspected it warily.

"Ok, let's hope this won't be an unpleasant surprise," He said before he yanked the capsule open and watched as a shape formed.

"Hey, you woke me up," The red, two tailed cat yo-kai greeted tiredly as he lay on the ground. "Actually, this is better." He muttered before falling asleep. Keita stared at Jibanyan blankly.

"…Why is this less surprising then it should be?"

.

Nate yanked the capsule open quickly and waited for the yo-kai to form.

"Oh my swirls! It was really cramped in there!" Komasan exclaimed as he fell to the ground. Nate stared at the small lion-dog for a moment as he pulled himself up and looked at him and extended his arm. "Thanks for rescuing me sir."

"Um…you're welcome, Komasan…" Nate muttered as he shook his paw, Komasan looked surprised.

"Oh my swirls!? How did you know my name? Are you some kind of psychic!?" Komasan questioned.

"Um…something like that," Nate muttered with an unsure look on his face as Komasan looked at him in amazement.

.

Keita cautiously looked over the capsule the Crank-a-Kai had produced.

"Well, here goes," He took a deep breath before he yanked the capsule open, what formed surprised Nate greatly.

"After 60 years, freedom at last!" Keita looked shocked at the sight of Fuyunyan, the cat yo-kai looked at him strangely. "…Keizo?"

"Um…no, I'm Keita, Keizo was my grandfather," Keita explained briefly. Fuyunyan took a second to process this before nodding.

"Very well, then this is rightfully yours," Fuyunyan said before handing Keita a Yo-kai Watch. "My name is Fuyunyan, I worked side by side with your grandfather in the past, and I hope to assist you in the future of befriending yo-kai and keeping piece between yo-kai and humans," Fuyunyan bowed and Keita looked amazed.

"…This will be an interesting go around," he couldn't help but mutter, even if it confused Fuyunyan.

.

Nate let out a sigh as he yanked the capsule open.

"GARGA!" Nate screamed at the sight of Gargaros and ran from the massive red oni as fast as his legs could carry him.

.

"Hi! I'm-"

"Whisper!" Keita suddenly exclaimed and grabbed the unsuspecting ghost in a hug. Whisper just stared blankly at the relieved look on Keita's face as he hugged him.

"Um…ok, if you would let me go I have some things to tell you whis…"

 **1.3**

The first thing that Nate became aware of this time around was that he was on a dust ship-the second thing he became aware of was that he _knew_ what a dust ship was-and the third thing was that he appeared to have become a teenager.

"Hope you're ready for Beacon, _little brother_ ," A blond haired woman commented towards Nate, he looked at her in confusion before his memories from this go around came flooding to him-This was his older sister Yang-and he was Nathen Rose, a fifteen year old hunter-in-training, and they were headed to Beacon academy; one of the best training schools for hunters in all of Vale. With all of these strange new memories Nate was a bit shocked by how different this go around was, but one thing definitely stood out.

"I'm a…prodigy?" He muttered as he looked at his hands, him, not average-but a prodigy-he remembered it clearly, being trained by Uncle Qrow in how to be a hunter, his weapon: Crescent Rose that he made himself, his speed semblance.

"Ahem," Yang interrupted his thoughts and he looked at her, and noticed her knowing smirk. "It seems this is all new to you, but nobody else seems to be awake this time so I guess I'm going to have to explain things to you, substitute anchor," Yang spoke cheerfully.

"…Substitute anchor?" Nate questioned in confusion, Yang chuckled.

"Yeah, you're _really_ new to this it seems, hold on I'll explain everything to you. Oh, and welcome to the loops." Let it be said that the next few minutes would give Nate one of the biggest headaches he had ever experienced.

.

"Ok, so let me get this straight, there's a tree?" Nate questioned as he and his in-loop sister stepped out of the dust ship and onto Beacon soil.

"That would be correct," She nodded.

"But it's really like a computer or something, and it's…broken? And the universes keep looping over and over and that's why I'm time traveling?" Nate looked at Yang for confirmation.

"That's right, you're an anchor and for this loop you're replacing my little sister: Ruby, our usual anchor. This being your first fused loop I understand your confusion, trust me, it gets easier," Yang commented good naturedly.

"Anchor? So…how long exactly will these loops last?" Nate asked nervously, Yang seemed to think for a moment.

"Um…about…forever..?" She scratched the back of her neck for a moment. "Eh, don't worry, I'll show you how to access your subspace pocket later and explain a bit more. Your in-loop memories should help you adapt for the most part-oh and think fast!" After saying that Yang sped off, leaving behind a confused Nate to bump right into a white haired girl with a suitcase.

.

' _Landing strategy! Landing strategy!'_ Nate frantically searched his in-loop memories as he soared through the air-seriously, who catapults kids into the forest!? Unfortunately he was under a bit of stress at the moment-that being, flying through the air! So he crashed-fortunately his aura protected him from any real damage…still.

"Ow…"

.

"It's official, Gargaros is no longer scary," Nate muttered as he assisted Weiss, Blake, and Yang with fighting the nevermore. All while Jaune and those other people ha hadn't interacted with yet fought the deathstalker.

.

"Nathen Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, you shall hereby be known as team NWBY…" Ozpin announced proudly.

"…Newby?" Nate asked plainly.

"…We'll work on the name."

.

"Ok, so do you understand everything now?" Yang asked Nate after they had gotten a chance to speak alone in the room-all Yang really had to do was tell their teammates that she needed to speak to her brother alone-though she made sure they weren't listening in.

"I think so. So normally you have a sister named Ruby and she's the anchor. I'm taking her place this loop and I'm the anchor for my own world's loops," Nate thought about this. "Wow…I'm actually special? Not just some average kid?"

"Average? Kid let me tell you something; _nothing_ in the loops is average," she said firmly, Nate nodded-his life had gotten weird when he had obtained the Yo-kai Watch, but compared to this, that just seemed like a normal day in the park-especially considering how many times he had lived that day at this point-what was it, ten? Fifteen?

"Ok, so that subspace pocket thing? What's that?"

"Oh that, I'll explain that to you, and you'll definitely be happy to have it come future loops-trust me kid, things aren't all sunshine and rainbows out there," Yang said seriously.

"I think I got that much when I saw the grimm…" Nate sweatdropped.

"Stick with me for this loop kid, and you'll be kicking butt in no time, trust me," Yang said confidently.

 **One loop later.**

"GARGA!" Gargaros roared at Keita, Whisper and Jibanyan; the two small yo-kai screamed but Keita approached the red oni with no fear in his eyes.

"Keita-kun! What are you doing!?" Whisper questioned in a panic, worried his master had lost his mind. Keita looked up at Gargaros as the large oni attempted to take a swing at him…and he vanished, leaving a few fluttering rose petals behind. The three yo-kai stared in confusion.

"Gargaros," Keita's voice held a tone of confidence as he stood behind the oni-Gargaros looked and saw Keita holding some kind of mechanical scythe in a threatening manner. "…You're definitely not scary anymore."

 **1.4**

"You can judge my value by competing against me," Robonyan said as he faced his past self; Jibanyan, while Nate and Whisper watched-Though Nate looked a bit disinterested: Mainly because he had seen this event many times.

"Compete? Fine let's battle!" Jibanyan said, holding his front paws up in ready pose.

"Wait, this is different," Nate whispered to himself, noticing that things were starting to change from what he usually saw at this event, were they just going to battle this time?

"Negative," Robonyan shook his head.

"No?" Jibanyan questioned.

"No, physical combat is an obsolete form of conflict resolution. In the future the only form of battle-" Robonyan's chest opened up to reveal a radio speaker. "Is dance battle!"

"What?" Both Jibanyan and Nate blankly questioned.

 **1.5  
**

Keita turned the nob on the Crank-a-Kai and picked up the capsule once more.

"Let's hope it's just Whisper this time," He commented before he pulled open the capsule to reveal…nothing? "Huh, Whisper?" he looked over the capsule carefully, but there was nothing inside of it. "Not even a different yo-kai? Or anything for that matter?"

Keita thought about what he should do, perhaps he could put another coin in the Crank-a-Kai.

"…Nah, I'll just go with this…there's no voice asking for coins so maybe he's really not in there this time," Keita grumbled something to himself about how much he talks to himself nowadays before deciding to head home, he could deal with Donyoriinu-even if he didn't have the Yo-kai Watch he could still kind of see them if he concentrated on where they were.

When Keita got home however he was surprised to find his parents acting perfectly normal, there did not seem to be any yo-kai at work at all.

"Huh…maybe there won't be any yo-kai this loop..?" For some reason, that thought almost saddened Keita…

.

The thought that there would be no yo-kai of course turned out to be almost laughable, of course there would be yo-kai. And it wasn't hard for him to spot Bakurobaa when she showed up on school right on schedule, however things played out a bit differently this time…

"No, wait, not me!" Keita cried out, to the confusion of most of the other students as Bakurobaa jumped at him and latched onto his chin.

"Baa baa," The yo-kai chanted as she glowed.

"I'm time traveling and can see spirits called yo-kai all over the place and there's one on me right now that's making me say this!" Keita covered his mouth and ran out of the room before anyone could react to his outrages claims. Fumi stared after Keita for a few seconds before she turned to someone invisible to most by her side.

"Whisper, Keita-kun was acting very weird there don't you think…and he outright stated that a yo-kai was possessing him," she contemplated this, Whisper scoffed at this though.

"Fumi-chan, that's just an attention grabber move, trust me there's no yo-kai and your friend wouldn't be able to see them or be time traveling," the ghost said firmly, Fumi however looked unconvinced and quickly followed after Keita.

.

"Get off of me!" Keita shouted as he tried to pull Bakurobaa off his chin while running out of the school-he briefly considered using his speed semblance to just make her come off, but decided that would honestly cause too much of a scene. "Why do you always end up causing me embarrassment!?"

"Keita-kun!" Keita looked over and noticed Fumi coming following after him, and noticed that she had an odd necklace around her neck with what looked like…a yo-kai watch!? She held up the watch and shined its light at him. "There is a yo-kai!"

"Fumi-chan, has a yo-kai watch!?" Keita exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't know how you know about yo-kai Keita, but I'll help you with this first," Fumi said before she pulled a familiar medal from her pocket. "Come on out my friend! Summoning Jibanyan!" Keita wasn't surprised at all when a bruised Jibanyan came fourth, straight from fighting a truck he assumed.

"Fumi-chan, I was busy," Jibanyan complained to the young girl, but she quickly pointed at Keita.

"Keita's being possessed by a yo-kai Jibanyan, please get rid of it!"

After they had dealt with Bakurobaa and she had given Fumi her medal, they sat down to talk, and Keita took a moment to concentrate on the space around Fumi to locate Whisper.

"So…you're time traveling?" Fumi asked curiously, Keita looked a bit nervous and glanced between Fumi and the ground.

"I told you Fumi-chan, that's impossible, just because he happened to have a yo-kai on him like he said doesn't mean-"

"Shut up Whisper," Keita said firmly, glaring in the ghost's direction-Whisper was shocked indeed.

"You can see me!? Whis!?"

"It was already clear he could see yo-kai, Whisper," Fumi pointed out.

"Kind of, if I know where to look…I usually have the Yo-kai Watch though," Keita said with a contemplative look on his face. "I've gone through these loops for a while, but this is the first time someone other than me received the Yo-kai Watch.

"How long have you been time traveling?" Fumi questioned, and Keita thought hard about it.

"I don't know, gone through somewhere around twenty…maybe thirty loops…" Keita did some mental counting. "They usually run to about…two Christmases from now…so I guess I'm a good deal older then I appear…"

"Keita-kun…" Fumi looked at Keita's expression that seemed to hold years of experience as the weight of what he was going through finally seemed to be processing in his head.

"Why…am I even telling you this? It's not like you'll believe me…or even remember," he muttered to himself.

"I believe you Keita-kun!" Fumi suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "Yes, it sounds farfetched. But I have a watch that lets me see yo-kai, and a yo-kai butler…" Fumi gave Keita a gentle smile and he blushed slightly before looking away.

"I told you though…you won't remember any of this next loop…" he sighed.

"So tell me again," she suggested kindly.

"What..?" Keita looked at her like she was crazy for a second and she giggled.

"You're my friend Keita-kun. Even if you're time traveling and are really more than a hundred years old or whatever, you can always talk to me," Keita and Fumi looked at each other for a moment before he nodded.

"Ok…I'll try."

Keita would continue to help Fumi and Whisper throughout the rest of the loop, his knowledge of the future-while not infallible, was certainly helpful-and Keita and Fumi grew very close throughout all of their shared ordeals…

 **Next loop.**

"Um…Katie…can I talk to you?" Nate asked nervously as he approached his female friend, she looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, sure, Nate. What is it?" she questioned. Nate stared at her smiling face for a few seconds before he turned.

"Um…never mind, it's nothing," He said with his head down.

"Nate..? Are you ok?" She asked in concern.

"Yes…I said I'm fine," He said as he walked away.

"Nate? You seemed like you wanted to tell her something important. What's wrong?" Whisper questioned as he floated behind his human companion.

"As I just said Whisper, it's nothing," Nate sighed sadly.

 **1.6 GammaTron**

Sarge inhaled deeply as he look at the sight before him. He always got annoyed with this damn place with the weird respawning crazy soldiers when he Woke up around the early days of their Loop. Looking to his left to the finger tapping his shoulder, he looked at Caboose.

"I am Awake," Caboose informed, "Do you have any Anchors?"

"Caboose, that's not how we tell others if'n we're Awake or not," Sarge snorted, "Now where's that there Red Zealot soldier? Most of th' time, he's always close t' here. ah was hopin' t' shove a stick o' TNT up his ass and see if'n that can kill 'em."

"I had that happen once," Caboose noted, "It tickled until it blew up. Then I woke up in Eiken and I had fun with Lin."

"..."

Sarge was about to say something when a whimper went off. Turning, he saw a shivering Red Soldier hiding behind a boulder.

"A-Are they done?" the soldier asked.

"...Aw shit," Sarge cursed as he walked over to the soldier, "Son, are y'all in need of an Anchor t' keep y'all Awake?"

"H-Huh?" the soldier looked up to see Sarge, "Oh no. Not again!"

"Ah ain't one of them," Sarge snorted, "Name's Sarge. Rank at th' time...Sargent. This here's Caboose, th' Anchor here. Welcome to Red VS Blue. Y'all got a name, son?"

"Keita...Amano Keita. Though, I go by Nate Adams, too. Right now, my name's Keita Adams."

"Oh my god!" Caboose exclaimed as he ran up to him, "You are my favorite person aside from Church!" he pulled out a 3DS game case, "Can you sign my game, please?"

"H-Huh?" Keita questioned.

"Huh?" Sarge looked at the cover, "Yo-Kai Watch? What th' hell's a Yo-Kai?"

"They're spirits, but also not spirits. Basically, they're the creatures that cause a lot of things that happen in everyday life, like suddenly singing along to songs on the TV, getting the sudden urge to go to the bathroom, a lazy person suddenly getting super active...things like that," Ketia explained as he looked at the cover, "This...This is weird."

"Y'all haven't had a Hub Loop yet, have y'all?" Sarge asked.

"A what Loop?" Keita questioned as he wrote both his names on the case.

"Yay! Thank you!" Caboose cheered as he put it back into his Pocket.

"Is...Is everything...?" Keita looked at Sarge.

"Eeyup. That's normal fer Caboose," Sarge replied before a bugle sounded, "...Let's get outta here."

"Agreed," Keita nodded.

"Running time!"

\- sometime later-

"Okay, everyone, we have another Looper fer this Loop," Sarge explained as he stood with Caboose, Grif, Tucker, and Church, "This here's Keita. From that there weird Yo-kai game."

"So you're the kid Yang introduced to the Infinite Loops," Grif noted as he held his hand out to Keita, "Dexter Grif."

"You know Yang?" Keita asked as he shook hands with him.

"Grif sees the two as younger sisters and they see him as an older brother," Church explained, "I blame the times that those two replaced Sister or Grif replaced Yang or was their older brother in his second year at Beacon."

"Which reminds me that I need to finish building the Yang Planet for Yang's birthday the next time I have a Loop with her," Grif muttered.

"The what now?" Keita's eyes widened under his helmet.

"Church! Church! Church!"

"What is it, Caboose?"

"It is him!" Caboose beamed as he pointed at Keita, "He is the boy with the watch that lets him see the awesomer Pokemon than Pokemon!"

"What?" Keita looked at Caboose.

"Long arguments in the Hub Loops," Church waved him off, "Just know that Caboose loves your games a lot more than Pokemon."

"Ash did it."

Church ignored Caboose's statement as he pulled out a few DVD boxes, some video games, and a stack of manga, "Here. You know how to access your Pocket, right?"

"Yeah," Keita replied as he took the items Church gave him, "H-Huh?! These...H-How?!"

"The Hub Loop basically acts as a 'library' for all other Loops," Church explained, "I got a few copies of all these since I watch the series and play the game with Caboose sometimes."

"We are the bestest friends in the Loops!" Caboose cheered.

"Dude, for what it's worth, I am so sorry for the shit that's gonna be happening in this Loop for you," Tucker informed.

"We could always just go and have a vacation Loop," Grif suggested.

"Can it, dirtbag. Y'all know we have an agreement that if'n we have a Looper that's new t' our Loop, we have them tag along Baseline."

"Let's just hope that it's not Segata Sanshiro who's the Meta again," Tucker shuddered.

"The Meta? Segata Sanshiro?" Keita asked, getting an uneasy feeling.

"Don't worry, pardner, it'll all be easy enough," Sarge assured before stage whispering, "He's gonna die before th' Loop ends."

Keita whimpered at that. Grif punched Sarge's shoulder at that. Sarge turned to him and Grif removed his visor to give a sharp glare at him before recovering them and turning to Keita.

"Hey now," Grif patted Keita's shoulder, "Don't worry. You won't be alone on this. How old are you normally, Keita?"

"Twelve."

"And how many Loops have you deal with in terms of your baseline?"

"Thirty."

Grif nodded, "Good. You can still count how many times you've done a Baseline run." he gave him another pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry. If something goes wrong, you'll have some great jerks helping keep you safe through this."

"I am Whisper! At your service!" Whisper greeted before blinking at seeing the one who freed him hitting his head on the tree, "Um...Excuse me?"

'Never again until I get better in the other Loops...' Keita thought before shuddering, 'That Meta guy...I'm not sure if he's bad, not as bad, or worse than those Oni in Terror Time!' he pulled out a small pack of oreos from his Pocket, 'Still...It was kinda nice having someone who acted like a protective big brother in those kinds of Loops. And turning into that robo-bear with his armor when that Meta was strangling me was awesome!'

"Excuse me!" Whisper called, trying to get Keita's attention, "Ugh! What is with children these days?!"

 **1.7 edited by MegaManGeoAce**

Nate Adamno blinked as he looked at his Yo-kai Watch, before he looked over at his identical twin brother: Keita Adamno and the identical watch he possessed.

"Lucky for you boys I just happened to have two of those, I assure you that this will be quite the bonding adventure for you both," Whisper said happily as he hovered around the Adams brothers. "Sometimes I wish I had a brother to share fun times with, you children are so lucky."

"…So this is going to be one of the weirder loops," Nate said as he looked at his 'brother.'

"Yes, yes it is," Keita nodded back. Yang had mentioned the 'Mikasa glitch' before…but this was really weird. Did this even qualify as a Mikasa glitch? Would he possess memories from both of the brothers next loop?

 **Next loop**

"Yup, that's a mind screw," Nate said while clutching his head while he stood before a confused Eddie and Bear, wondering what had caused Nate's sudden headache.

 **1.8 edited by MegaManGeoAce**

Whisper felt strange-no not strange. Cramped… he was… he was in the Crank-a-Kai again!? How had this happened? He thought on how he could escape or inform Keita about this, when he felt the capsule he was in shift and the sound of gears turning was clear to him. And soon the capsule opened up and he was faced with the familiar form of his master and friend.

"Keita-kun! Thank you for letting me out again, but how did I get back in there?" Whisper questioned seriously, and Keita's eyes widened. "The last thing I remember we had just fixed the power outage and got your watch upgraded…but how could I have ended up back in the-" Whisper's thoughts were stopped as Keita pulled him into a hug.

"Whisper…" Keita muttered as he hugged his Yo-Kai butler. This was like when he had finally gotten to see Whisper again after receiving random Yo-Kai from the Crank-a-Kai. But much more than just that.

"Um… Keita-kun?" Whisper questioned, wondering why his human friend was hugging him, but then he noticed the tears in Keita's eyes.

"Please, I'll explain everything soon, just... let me have this moment," Keita whispered.

"Okay, Keita-kun."

 **1.9**

"So wait, you've been time traveling in these loops…and now I'm part of it too? Whis," Whisper questioned as he floated before the smiling Keita.

"Yeah, the loops are something you need to get used to," he frowned a bit while he was in thought. "There were…some hard times…but there were also people who helped me. People I could depend on…but I'm happy you're now looping too, baseline has been rather lonely lately," Keita explained.

"Baseline?" Whisper questioned and Keita chuckled.

"Oh yeah, I need to explain all the terms to you," Keita looked to be in thought again, and Whisper crossed his arms.

"I'm really not sure about this Keita-kun. I mean sure we're back were we first met but-"

"If you have any doubts just take a look at this," Whisper just gaped at how fast Keita had sprinted over to him-and the fact he had left a trail of what appeared to be rose petals. Keita held a stack of what appeared to be some books, DVDs, and games. When Whisper got a good look at what these pieces of fiction depicted, it was rather shocking. "I-is that us? And Jibanyan? And some other yo-kai, Fumi-chan's there too?"

"Yeah, I know it's shocking Whisper, but it's the truth. These are from the hub, and though I haven't looped there myself, it seems hold a lot of information on us and other worlds too," Keita explained while Whisper looked over the stuff some more, before he realized something.

"Wait, where did you pull this stuff from, and how did you move that fast?" he questioned with a confused look on his ghostly face. "And what's with the rose petals?"

"I stored those items in my subspace pocket, and as for my speed semblance, I got that the same place I picked this up!" Keita pulled his Crescent Rose from his subspace pocket at that exclamation and Whisper nearly fell out of the air.

 **1.10**

"I just need to accept it, I'm never getting out of here. I'll probably die…again before I get out of here," Manjimutt cried as he sat in his cell. His one chance at freedom…gone, just because there was some guy who had a dog face and the warden never bothered to learn his name…it simply wasn't fair.

"Come on out my friend! Calling Manjimutt!" The familiar cry filled Manjimutt's ears as the pull of the summoning began.

"No! Please, I don't want to be in anymore trouble!" the man faced dog cried as the rune lined circle pulled him in.

.

"Please, why did you call me, I-"

"Here, take this," Nate quickly handed Manjimutt a briefcase.

"Wait, what?" The dog-like yo-kai stared at the silver briefcase in confusion.

"The combination is 356, in there you'll find appropriate papers for a false identity, I.D, driver's license, ect. You'll also find a plane ticket for a trip to the USA scheduled for…" Nate looked at the Yo-kai Watch briefly. "This afternoon."

"Wait, I don't understand," Manjimutt tried to question, but Nate continued.

"You'll also find a card and papers that will allow you to access a bank account that exists under your new name, which should contain approximately 7 billion in US dollars-more than enough to live a comfortable life," Nate finished explaining and nodded in affirmation. Manjimutt just stared at the human boy blankly.

"I-I don't understand, is this some kind of trick? A cruel joke?" He looked at the suitcase for a second. Nate smiled warmly.

"No joke Manjimutt, I've…seen more than I would have normally…let's just leave it at that. But anyway, you deserve to just be happy and have access to anything you could ever need…for once," Nate muttered that last part quietly as Manjimutt started to tear up.

"I…don't know what to say…how did you even?"

"Don't question it," Nate interrupted the human faced dog. "You also don't need to thank me, just go and enjoy yourself."

"…I won't forget this," Manjimutt said before he turned to run to the airport. Nate smiled as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Was that really worth spending five loops gathering up money and learning the skills to set up false identities and even hack government computers to accomplish?" The awake Whisper questioned Nate as he hovered behind him with a skeptical look on his face.

"Even if it's just for one loop, that guy deserves to have _something_ go right for him, you know what they say: Every dog has his day," Nate said with a soft smile.

"I don't recall you being this selfless in the past Nate," Whisper said with a questioning look, Nate sighed.

"The loops change people Whisper…you'll see soon enough…"

Sure enough, a few months later Nate and Whisper got word of the new rising billionaire in the USA 'Joe Mutt' and how he lived a life of peace on his private island…even if it wouldn't remain next loop, Nate was happy with these results.

 **1.11**

Nate/Keita was used to the occasional change in his, or his friend's names, or the names of a lot of the yo-kai he was familiar with. He was also used to occasionally looping into what he had come to know as a 'game loop,' a run which reflected the storyline of the Yo-kai Watch 3DS game(That he had played a bit on occasion) that Caboose had originally shown him. Still, despite the event changes he had usually found these runs to have the same base in reality as his usual baseline runs. However…sometimes a few…less realistic mechanics slipped in.

.

"Darn it!" Nate cried out in frustration as he stood within the hidden pathway next to Shoten Temple. Whisper-whom was thankfully awake-floated over to him with a confused look on his face.

"Nate? What's wrong?" The ghost-like yo-kai questioned and Nate sighed in response.

"I've been trying to befriend Noko for nearly an hour! When I finally caught one I fed it its favorite food, and I even popped a wisp with a heart…and then the Pandle that was fighting with it asked to be my friend!?" Nate slumped over and clutched his head.

"I did say Noko were rare, you can't expect to befriend it so easily," Whisper said with a cross of his arms.

"Baseline begs to differ," Nate muttered to himself. He saw that a Noko had spawned again and quickly move to battle it, it moved away fast and when he tried to catch up Nate ran into a Mochismo. "Darn it!" Nate cried as the battle started.

.

"Hey, Nate look, there's a chicken thigh in that trashcan," Whisper pointed out as they walked through an alleyway. Nate gave the trashcan a brief stare before he continued walking.

"Yeah, I'm not touching that…"

 **1.12**

"Hey, Whisper?" Keita questioned as he sat at his bed with Whisper floating nearby and Jibanyan lounging around on the floor with a choco bar in hand.

"What Keita-kun? Whis," Whisper asked as he floated closer to his 'master,' though he was Keita's butler-Keita honestly rarely considered himself Whisper's 'master.' Still, there was a questioned that had been plaguing his mind for the past few loops, and even unawake Whisper should be able to give him some kind of answer to it.

"Well, you were trapped in the Crank-a-Kai for more than a hundred years, right?" Keita questioned carefully.

"Yes, 190 years to be exact, whis," Whisper nodded his…body(?) at Keita's question.

"Well…we now know that my grandfather was working on the first Yo-kai Watch 60 years ago, so…how did you have it with you when I released you?" when Keita asked this Jibanyan's ears perked up in curiosity.

"Yeah, how does that work?" Jibanyan asked, standing to his feet. Whisper hovered with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Yes…hmm, that is a very good question," he turned away from them for a moment and made a few 'hmm' sounds before turning back to them. "Yes a very good question, with a very good answer, whis."

"…Which is?" Keita questioned after a few moments of silence. Whisper just crossed his arms and smiled in thought.

"Yes, a very good question indeed," He nodded again with his eyes closed.

"He's nyot answering," Jibanyan groaned. Keita sighed; so much for getting the answer to that…

 **1.13 edited by MegaManGeoAce**

"So you're Nate?" Ruby grinned as she looked at the twelve year old boy before her. It seems that Nate had looped back into Remnant, only this time apparently this loops version of his dad had died when he was a baby and his mother married Taiyang a few years after Ruby's mom's death, making him Ruby and Yang's younger step brother.

"Sometimes I go by Keita, but I'm Nate right now." Nate nodded in response as he looked at the seemingly fifteen year old girl. "And you're…Ruby?"

"Yup, nice to finally meet you. I heard a few things from Yang and Griff, sorry you won't be old enough to be a hunter within this loop." Ruby shrugged and patted his shoulder.

"I think I can live with that, though thanks. How did you get here anyway?" Nate questioned, they were sitting by a tree nearby their house, and Nate was pretty sure from his memories that Ruby should be at Beacon right now.

"Don't worry about it. So you've got a friend from your own baseline looping now?" Ruby cheerfully changed the subject and Nate blinked for a second before shrugging and nodding.

"Yeah, Whisper. He may not always be awake, but it's nice to have someone within my own loops remember stuff," Nate smiled and Ruby placed a gentle hand on his head.

"I know the first bunch of loops can be tough, especially when not many others are looping yet, but don't worry little bro, it will get better," Ruby said with a kind smile on her face. Nate stared at her for a second and nodded back.

"I… Thanks Ruby, it's very nice to get to meet you, even if I'm not really your brother," Nate said with a polite bow. Ruby chuckled and pulled him back up by his hair. "Hey-ow!"

"Nate, I'll be honest with you right now, my in-loop memories show you to be a loud, annoying, pest that would often prank me and Yang out of nowhere," Nate frowned a bit as Ruby brought up those memories-yeah, this variants unawake him was…not very mature. "But, I look at you right now and see a kid who's been thrown into something they still hardly understand-kind of like me when I first started looping. And I think you could use some support, I'm happy to have you call me big sister even if we're not often in the same loop-also I've kind of wanted a younger sibling for a while anyway," Ruby blushed a bit at that last part.

"Ruby… Thanks, big sis." Nate said as he hugged Ruby, Ruby hugged him back. They stayed like that for a minute before separating.

"So, you have my baseline semblance along with your own Crescent Rose?" Ruby asked as she looked the younger boy up and down.

"Yeah, I really have to thank you for that honestly." Nate vanished in a blur and Ruby turned to see him standing on the other side of the tree holding his Crescent Rose, a trail of rose petals fluttering behind him. "Back in my baseline I was just…average. That's what everyone called me; average. I honestly hated it…even after I got the Yo-kai Watch; still considered average by everyone."

"But…when I replaced you, I was considered a prodigy, I got accepted into Beacon two years early, and the semblance." Nate sped back to where he originally stood. "Awesome. And Crescent Rose here has come in handy on occasion too."

"Yup, sure does." Ruby grinned as she held her own Crescent Rose for a moment. "Still, you think my baseline stuff is cool, wait till you start getting more fused loops. What you've seen is only the tip of the iceberg."

"Really? The speed already seems really good, what else can you do?" Nate questioned while Ruby grinned…before taking off her head and holding it in front of Nate while it continued to grin.

"How's that for awesome?"

*THUD*

"Oh, maybe I should've prepared him for that better…Yang's gonna be pissed."

 **1.14 GarnettFoxy**

"This place...Is amazing..." Nate decided nodding solomly as Grey let a prehistoric dragonfly nibble on his hair, the giant insect dwarfing most birds.

"We're only in the bughouse and you're in love." Grey teased though he had an equally wide grin on his face, the youngest Jurassic Park looper was pretty over the moon to have him as a brother and wanted to show him everything on the island. "Same some excitement for Aunt Claire's surprise tonight!"

Nate chuckled and cautiously picked up the resting dragonfly. It buzzed its wings but was more or less content to be handled. "You've been going on about this surprise wince you found out she was awake to."

"Because it's awesome."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

0o0o0o

"U-uhrm Miss Claire?" The red haired woman smiled.

"Nate I told you, it's Aunt Claire. What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing just that we're in the T-REX EXHIBIT!" Nate yelped eyeing the door they'd just come out of.

"Nate I promise it's perfectly safe, you can use your semblance to get out if anything goes wrong and well I have quuuuite a few tricks up my sleeve." She smiled and pressed a clicker she had in her hand.

A loud thump answered.

Nate looked to the perfectly calm Grey as the thumping grew louder and closer. He gulped as a enormous Tyrannosaur stepped out of the tree line growling lowly and dripping with water "He doesn't look happy at his bath getting interrupted." He wished he could take it back as the Rexes attention seemed to snap to him bright gold eyes boring into him. He froze up.

"...The not seeing movement things a myth you know." Grey remarked idly as the Rex snarled and stalked towards them its steps getting quicker and quicker as it approached.

Claire clicked again.

The Rex skidded to a halt just in front of Claire.

"Holy-" The Rex threw its head back and gave a earsplitting roar. "...How long did it take to teach him that?"

"Five minutes to tell her you were coming." Nate blinked and stared at Grey.

"...Wha?"

The rex rolled its eyes and waved it's claws at him.

"Hi, Roxanne Looping T-Rex. They kinda wanted to show off." She shrugged as Nate stared at her.

"I what...Huh? You loop?!"

"Me, a rex hatchling, about seven raptors, two parasaurolophus, a apatasaur, a triceratops, a pterasaur, a Stegosaur and a Oviraptor." She rattled off. "Hundreds of Aliens, there's probably another dino looper running around who's hiding from the rest of us. And I gave up trying to count the number of Pony Loopers around."

 **1.15 GammaTron(Part 1, will likely be continued)**

There are inexplicable events occurring in this world, that are all caused by Yokai.

Sirens wailed as police cars surrounded a house, many neighbors looking out their doors and windows to see what was going on.

You can see those Yokai with an object called the "Yokai Watch."

An officer was quick in escorting someone from the home, a jacket to hide them from anyone's sight.

When encountering those Yokai, no one knows what will happen to your life.

The darkened skies lit up with a flash of lightning, the cold wind blowing on the jacket, making it move a bit to reveal the blood-stained red shirt with a star on it and the wrist sporting a strange watch with a bubble-like top to it.

Wright Attorney Agency

Monday, February 10 - 10:30AM

Phoenix yawned as he reclined in his office chair. It was a month before he would be in the trial that would result in his bar from being a Lawyer. He already had the right ideas to make sure to avoid it again and was now just relaxing. A phone call earlier let him know Maya was Awake and she was a bit irritable since she had another Loop with her hated rival in the 'divine food' Dexter Grif.

'Honestly, those two get along like water and oil...' Phoenix thought, 'Personally, I could care less about what food is better so long as I don't have to end up paying for everyone's meal.'

A knock came from the door to his office. Looking up, he saw someone standing behind the door.

"Come in," Phoenix called, 'Seems I have one more case before then. Hopefully, I'll get paid this time.'

The door opened and a tall butler wearing a gas mask entered, "Hello. You are the famous Phoenix Wright, yes?"

"I am," Phoenix replied, 'A butler in a gas mask...Not the weirdest thing I've seen, even in Baseline.'

"My name is Whis Bei," the butler informed, "I would like to hire you for a matter most urgent."

"What's wrong?"

"My young master has been arrested for patricide of the first degree," Whis Bei informed.

"P-Patricide?!" Phoenix gasped.

"I wish for you to defend him in court," Whis Bei informed before pulling out a piece of paper, "This is his address. He's currently in the Detention Center, awaiting for his trial tomorrow at noon."

"Don't worry. I'll handle this," Phoenix nodded.

"Thank you," Whis Bei nodded, "You are as kind as Mia Fey says you are."

"You really think so?" Phoenix chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before his eyes snapped open, "Mia Fey?! How do y..." the seat before him was empty, '...Wh-What? He...He's gone!' he looked down at the piece of paper, 'Well...I might as well get to work, then. I'll go see this young master of his.'

Detention Center - 11:05AM

'Okay. Time to go to work,' Phoenix thought as he saw the door to the other side of the wall open, 'Now to see who the guy i...?!'

Walking into the room was a young boy, no older than ten or twelve years. Heck, he'd probably be the same age as Athena was at the moment this Loop. He was wearing a plain red shirt with a red star, blue jean shorts, and had messy brown hair.

"Um...A-Are you Whis Bei's young master?" Phoenix asked once the boy sat down.

"..."

"He said he was your butler and asked me to defend you," Phoenix informed.

"..."

'Aw geez...This is gonna be hard...' Phoenix thought, 'Now what would Trucy do? Ah! I got it.' "Want to see a trick?"

"..."

"...Yeah, I guess not," Phoenix sighed before taking out the paper with the address, "This is your address, right?"

"..." the boy looked at the address, "Y-Yeah."

"I'm Phoenix Wright. I'm here to be your lawyer."

"...Keita..."

"Huh?"

"Keita Amano."

'Keita Amano...Okay, we've got a name now,' Phoenix thought, "So tell me, Keita, why are you in here?"

"I...I..." Keita trembled, looking as if he was trying not to throw up.

"Okay, okay, okay. We can skip that," Phoenix assured, 'This boy couldn't have done it.' "I know you're innocent. I'l make sure you can get out of this, Keita."

Keita slowly nodded. He looked down at his wrist before taking the watch on it off and pushing it under the opening in the clear panel separating them.

"Take this. You'll need it more than me right now," Keita informed before he left.

'Poor kid...' Phoenix thought before sighing, '...Well...I guess Trucy's going to have a big brother aside from Apollo for this Loop.'

Mysterious Watch added to Court Record

'I'd better go check things out at the address,' Phoenix thought as he put the watch on and left, 'Though...Why did he give me his watch?'

As he left, he was unaware of his Magatama glowing softly in unison with the watch, almost as if one another were greeting an old friend in a way.

 **1.16**

"Um…who are you supposed to be?" The half-ghost boy know as Danny Phantom(And Danny Fenton while in human form) stared at what appeared to be the Box Ghost where he would normally first show up in the loop…but.

"Um…I am the Box Whisp, I guess…" The face on the Box Ghost was definitely not right, with no nose, some kind of shadow around his eyes, and a large, blue lipped mouth. "…Do you know what's going on? Whis…"

"I'm going to take a guess and say that you're a looper," Danny said calmly as he looked at the replacement for the Box Ghost.

"That would be correct, my name is Whisper-Though this is one of the strangest loops I've been in so far, and I don't see Keita-kun anywhere…or is his name Nate right now..?"

"What do you mean?" Danny asked as he dropped to the ground and leaned on one of the warehouses walls.

"He's the anchor of our loop from what he explained to me, though he and some others have a habit of changing names between loops…I usually just know which name it is at the time, but I can't seem to be able to decide at the moment," Whisper muttered while in thought.

"Probably because he's not in this loop-this your first fused loop?" Danny asked calmly, Whisper looked surprised by the question.

"Fused loop…yes I think my Keita/Nate mentioned those before, but I've never experienced such a thing…" Whisper stated. Danny put on a good natured smile and chuckled.

"Don't worry, we'll help you out-it will honestly be nice to not have the Box Ghost annoying me for a loop-Sam! Tucker! We've got a looper in here," Danny called out to his friends outside while Whisper just floated by, wondering what his first loop outside of his usual world would bring…

 **Next loop**

"Behold, my power over all things boxes!" Whisper exclaimed as he made a bunch of empty cardboard boxes float before Keita and Jibanyan's eyes.

"…Are you really proud of that power?" Keita asked blankly.

"No…not really," Whisper sighed with a sweatdrop.

 **1.17**

Nate turned the nob on the Crank-a-Kai and caught the capsule as soon as it fell out, before carefully pulling it open with a *POP!*

"Greetings!" The robotic cat greeted a surprised Nate after he formed, using his rockets to hover several feet above the ground. "I am Robonyan, a highly advanced mechanical yo-kai from the highly technological distant past!"

"What…the distant past?" Nate asked blankly.

"Correct-The past was filled with much scientific achievement that was lost in the war," Robonyan explained.

"Um…war?" Nate questioned while scratching his head. "What war?"

"Why, the war between humans and yo-kai of course!" Robonyan exclaimed loudly, causing Nate to jump back in surprise. "They had lived side-by-side peacefully for centuries, but then something went wrong. The war got so bad that there was only one option!"

"One option," Nate wasn't sure he liked how this loop was looking so far…

"Create a device to make yo-kai invisible to humans, so that the war would cease-I was chosen to wait in this stasis pod for the moment when a human would come and free me, so that I may bestow upon them the device to allow humans and yo-kai to communicate once more-so that we may try to find peace once more!"

"…I'm sorry…but could you maybe repeat…all of that?" Nate asked with a very confused look on his face.

.

Keita looked at the capsule for a moment before quickly opening it and watching as the yo-kai formed.

"Orochi?"Keita questioned, surprised to see the humanoid yo-kai hovering in front of him.

"I thank you for freeing me, but now I must be on my way-for my journey will not stop until I am able to defeat Red J!" Orochi announced before flying off.

"…He didn't even give me a Yo-kai Watch."

.

"Hungramps?" Nate looked the yo-kai that had come out of the capsule up and down…yup, it was Hungramps.

"Yup, that's my name-but how'd you know?" the elderly yo-kai questioned, but he just shrugged before Nate could answer. "Oh well, thanks a lot for freeing me from that gosh darn prison, but I'm starving. Do you know where I could get some food?"

"Um…yeah, probably," Nate decided to just go with this and see what would happen-even if he was sure trying to satiate Hungramp's apatite was probably a bad idea.

"Oh thanks young'in, by the way this will probably help you out," Hungramps handed Nate the Yo-kai Watch. "So lead the way, my stomachs growling."

"Ok…" Nate muttered as he thought about where exactly to get food for Hungramps.

.

Keita turned the nob of the Crank-a-Kai and looked at the capsule that came out carefully.

"…Let me guess: it's not Whisper?" Keita muttered to himself before he pulled the capsule open and smoke obscured his vision and a small being formed.

"Hi there!" Keita stared at the small yo-kai that he had never seen before-that looked kind of like…a rabbit in a space suit? "I'm USApyon! Thanks so much for freeing me from that stupid gacha machine-I thought I'd never get out of there."

"Um…you're welcome," Keita muttered-he had gotten many yo-kai from the Crank-a-Kai before in place of Whisper, but this was the first time it was one he had never seen in baseline. "My name's Keita…Amano Keita," he shook the small yo-kai's paw and gave a bit of a friendly smile.

"Here," USApyon held out a Yo-kai Watch and Keita pretended to not know what it was as he took it. "That Yo-kai Watch should help you out with helping us find yo-kai to help build our rocket," at those words Keita blinked.

"Wait, rocket?" he asked while looking at the rabbit-like yo-kai. USApyon nodded.

"Of course we're going to build a rocket, space travel is my goal and I shall reach it-Did you think this suit was just for show?"

"I…thought it was kind of like cosplay..?" USApyon stared at Keita with his eyes twitching for a moment.

"C-cosplay? You little," USApyon pressed two buttons on his helmet before black obscured his face, and two red slits glowed where his eyes would be **"VADER MODE."**

"Ok, forget 'baseline abilities only!'" Keita cried as he used his speed semblance to dodge the rabbid rabbit's laser fire. "Why is he even so mad!?" Keita cried, more to himself then to USApyon.

 **1.18**

Nate walked into his house and stopped and stared into his living room as he saw his parents, along with Katie, Bear, and Eddie sitting down and looking at him with concern.

"What the..?"

"Nate, this is an intervention," Nate's mother said calmly as she patted a place for him to sit.

"A what?" Nate questioned-for what reason would his friends and family decide to do something like this!? This was very odd…

"An intervention son, we've been…concerned about you," Nate's father said before gesturing to his three schoolmates. "Your friends have noticed your behavior in school, as have your mother and I at home and we're rather worried."

"My behavior..?" Nate questioned as his mind drew a blank.

"You've been talking to thin air and even occasionally shouting," Katie said with a worried look on her face.

"You just run off sometimes, and then come back like nothing happen," Eddie added with concern in his voice.

"Nate, we're not sure what's going on with you-but we want you to know that we are here for you and we want you to talk about your issues, this is a safe place so don't worry," Nate's mother said with a calming smile. Nate just stared with a sweatdrop.

' _Why did they need to be so observant this loop..?_ '

 **1.19**

Jibanyan blinked as he found himself on a familiar intersection, he looked around to see people walking about and cars pass by on occasion.

"…Isn't this where I did my training back before I started living with Keita? How did I end up back here?" he looked around again, and spotted two familiar figures approaching. "Keita? Whisper?"

He tried to rush across the road to meet with them…and promptly got knocked into the sky by a truck.

"Nyot again!"

"…Was that Jibanyan?" Keita asked as he looked up into the sky.

"This is where we usually meet up with him. Whis," Whisper said with his verbal tick that only seemed to show up whenever Keita's name was…well; Keita.

"Yeah but, he doesn't usually get knocked into the air until after he possesses someone," Keita said as he took on the contemplative look.

"Could just be a variant," Whisper pointed out plainly, and Keita nodded but still looked conflicted. "…Is it really that thought provoking? Aren't you a genius or something? Whis."

"Knowing how to hack computers doesn't equal being a genius-either way, let's just go get him. I'll say I saw him get hit by the car and offer to let him live with us right away," Keita said as he started walking in the direction Jibanyan had flown.

"Wasting no time on it this time I see," Whisper muttered as he followed.

.

"Ow…" Jibanyan moaned as he lay on the sidewalk, people passed by but of course none could see him-or help him up. He pulled himself to his feet and looked in the direction he had been tossed from. He spotted Keita and Whisper coming towards him and quickly met up with them.

"Um hi," Keita held out his hand somewhat awkwardly. "I saw you got knocked away by that car…so I know this will sound strange, but I can see yo-kai and-"

"Keita, what are you talking about?" Jibanyan interrupted the boy with a raised eyebrow. "Of course you can see yo-kai with the Yo-kai Watch, and why are you acting like we're first meeting nyow!? What's going on!?" Keita and Whisper just stared at Jibanyan wide eyed.

"…Jibanyan…you remember who we are," Keita spoke with an amount of amazement in his voice that only confused the cat-like yo-kai further.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I know who you are?" he questioned as his ears twitched a bit, Keita put a hand on Jibanyan's head and sighed.

"Jibanyan…we have a lot to talk about…"

 **1.20**

"Whisper…"

"Yes Nate?"

"Why is Jibanyan a dog?" Nate asked as he looked from his bed at the red corgi with two flaming tails that was happily panting as it looked around the room.

"Well, um," Whisper quickly started searching through his yo-kai pad for any information. Nate looked at the dog-like yo-kai for a minute.

"Um…are you, awake?" The corgi tilted its head at Nate and he sighed. "Right, dumb question."

 **One loop later, in Remnant.**

"Ruby…"

"Yes Weiss?"

"When exactly did your dog learn to do that?" The white haired girl questioned her partner as they watched the small corgi lay waste to the grimm with…

("Paws of Fury!") Zwei barked as he pelted the beasts with hits from his paws moving at lightning speed.

"I…have no idea," Ruby muttered.

"Or that?" Weiss added as the two watched Zwei set some grimm on fire.

 **1.21**

"What'cha playing Keita?" Jibanyan asked as he came over to Nate as he played a 3DS on his bed.

"Pokémon X," Keita responded as he hit some buttons.

"Pokémon? Isn't that the loop you said a lot of people in the hub are comparing us to?" Jibanyan questioned as he crawled onto the bed to look over Keita's shoulder at the game.

"That was the impression I got from the blues and reds when I met them-I had a hub loop and decided to pick one of the games up-it's pretty fun…but I don't really see the resemblance," Keita explained as his in game character threw a pokéball at an Eevee.

"Huh, looks kind of cool," Jibanyan said before he shrugged and jumped down from the bed and started eating a chocobo bar. He glanced back at Keita whom was still focused on his game. "…Are you gonna spend the whole loop playing that game?"

"Probably."

 **1.22**

Nate was the only one awake this loop, but so far everything had gone pretty baseline and he didn't really feel like altering much other than occasionally stopping a yo-kai before it could take any action-though he didn't see any reason to interfere with this meeting.

"But I don't want to be a robot-I like the way I am now, more then I like chocolate bars," the unawake Jibanyan said to his cybernetic future self.

"Irrelevant!" Robonyan stated-his eyes glowing a blood red. The hostility that Robonyan now seemed to be emitting surprised Nate and put him on guard. "Your future has already been set in stone-You will submit to the Borg collective-you all will. Resistance is futile," Robonyan stated as he approached the two unawake loopers and anchor threateningly.

"And I was hoping this would just be a peaceful baseline run," Nate sighed to himself as he moved to get Crescent Rose from his sub-space pocket.

 **1.23 Edited by MegaManGeoAce.**

"Keita-kun, is there something wrong?"

It was nearing the end of the loop and Keita was going to meet with his friends, but he did not seem to be very invested in it.

"What do you mean? Why would something be wrong?"

"Well, I can't help but notice you haven't been as happy to spend time with your human friends for the last few loops, not even Fumi-chan," Keita seemed to stiffen at the mention of his crush and stopped walking. "…Keita-kun, what's really wrong?"

"It was a while ago…before you started looping," Keita looked away as he thought about what to say to the concerned Yo-kai. "But…I've been thinking about it more lately, I'm not even sure why…in that loop, Fumi-chan was the one that got the Yo-kai Watch."

"Fumi-chan with the Yo-kai Watch? Isn't that a common variant?"

"Yeah, but…I told her about what was going on, how I already knew about Yo-kai, and how I had been time traveling. She…we got close…really close," Keita seemed to be getting more distressed as he spoke. "I was…very happy to have that kind of relationship with her, we weren't exactly dating…but the way our relationship developed was something very precious to me…and then the loop ended."

"Keita-kun…" Whisper muttered with a look of understanding on his face.

"I...tried to talk to her after, but…the thoughts of all our time spent together in that loop, growing closer…gone. I realized...I can't have a relationship with her, I'm not even sure if I can have a friendship with someone who's not looping…How can I sustain a relationship that will never progress?"

Keita sniffled at the thought. Whisper then simply put a hand on Keita's shoulder.

"Keita-kun, please don't think like that. True…your friend's aren't looping, but the very fact that you have a friendship with them means that someday they might. You explained it to me yourself; the reason me and Jibanyan started looping is because of our connection to you. So don't ignore your friends, spend time with them with the hope that someday, maybe your relationships will progress into something further?"

"Y-yeah, you're right. Looping, not looping. They're still my friends, and I should appreciate my time with them, even if they won't remember next loop," Keita sighed, his internal struggles were not completely resolved, but that did help a lot. "…Say, when did you get so wise, Whisper?" Whisper took offense to this comment.

"What are you talking about Keita? I've always been wise."

"Suuure."

"I'm telling you I have!"

 **1.24**

Nate twisted the nob of the Crank-a-Kai, as he did at the beginning of nearly every loop. He caught the capsule then came out and pulled it open, and watched as the smoke formed-

"Hidabat?" Nate questioned in surprise at the sight of the yo-kai shut-in that normally lived in his closet. Hidabat seemed to be uncomfortable being out in the open and huddled up in what seemed to be an attempt to make herself appear as small as possible.

"Put me back in the capsule…please."

.

Keita opened the capsule cautiously watched as the form of a yo-kai became clear in the resulting tornado of runes and smoke.

"Meramera!" The blazing form of Merameraion shouted as he stood before Keita. Keita looked at the lion-like yo-kai and decided to approach with caution-true, Merameraion was one of his go-to yo-kai to call, but he could be a little-"MERA!"

Whatever Keita was feeling was now overwhelmed by the burning passion to blaze through whatever challenge set before him.

"YEAH! Let's go befriend all the yo-kai!" The possessed Keita shouted with fire in his eyes.

"MERAMERA!" Merameraion shouted in agreement before they both ran off.

Keita would later be thankful that neither Whisper, nor Jibanyan were awake for that loop…

.

Nate pulled the capsule opened and stepped back when a growl came from the yo-kai that formed.

"Grr, who are you!? Did'ya pull me out to have a rumble, cuz I can rumble!" The lizard-like yo-kai that sported a large pompadour shouted while holding his fists up.

"I'm not here to fight," Nate assured, holding his hands up-of course, he could probably defeat Roughraff in combat at this point, still he'd rather avoid conflict at this time-unless Roughraff tried to-.

"Oh, you gonna be all goody-goody huh? Well then I'll make you a hooligan!" Roughraff shouted as he prepared to inspirit Nate-before he could Nate vanished from where he stood, leaving only a few fluttering rose petals behind. "…Wha..?" a blur hit Roughraff and knocked him out before he could process what had happened.

"Sorry, Roughraff. But I'd rather not end up a criminal or something this loop," Nate sighed as he sat down and thought about he would calm the rambunctious yo-kai once he woke up.

.

Keita stared at the yo-kai that had come out of the Crank-a-Kai this time...he honestly preferred it when he got Whisper as opposed to some random yo-kai, but this was an odd case.

"Whisper…Jibanyan?" Keita questioned as he looked at the fused form of the two looping yo-kai he was familiar with.

"What's going on?" Whisper's voice came from Buchinyan before the fused yo-kai made some jerking movement.

"Why are we fused!? Why can't we split!?" Jibanyan's voice cried out as the shared body twitched and moved some more.

"How am I supposed to know!? Whis!" Whisper's voice cried out.

"Wait, you guys are stuck like that?" Keita questioned in both concern and confusion.

"No! I don't want to be stuck like this the whole loop!" Jibanyan cried out from within the fused body.

"Oh come on! It's not that bad!" Whisper stated firmly as Buchinyan took on a more calm pose-however he soon started freaking out again as Jibanyan continued to cry out his displeasure for this situation-Keita just watched this with an unsure look on his face.

"…It still doesn't look a thing like Whisper."

 **Well hope that was enjoyable, there will be more where those came from in time.**

 **Honestly this took forever to compile and I'm really tired…**


	2. Chapter 2

**2.1**

Nate sat at his desk as the teacher droned on about…something. He tapped his pencil on the desk and muttered a few things to himself… before jumping up, kicking his desk over and screaming.

"I can't take this anymore!"

"Nathen Adams!" The teacher turned to him, appalled by his behavior - but Nate paid him no mind.

"You're all ignorant to the truth! They're all around us! See for yourself!" Nate reached into his sub-space pocket and tossed his stockpile of Yo-kai Watches to his confused classmates. "Look! Shine the lights and see them for yourself!"

"Nate, what is the meeting of this!?" the teacher called out, but the other students gasped loudly as they shined the lights of the watches around the room and found various yo-kai moving about.

"What are they!?"

"Monsters!? Ghosts!?"

"What's going on!?"

"Everything we know is a lie!"

As the various students panicked, Nate stood there with a frown on his face as Whisper came up behind him.

"And what exactly was the point of that?"

"… I had a bet with Yang," Nate answered briefly, Whisper surveyed the chaos as the teacher tried to get the panicking students under control.

"And?"

"I lost."

 **2.2 KaiserRichard**

Whisper stretched after being released from his Crank-a-kai jail for the Xth time "Geez Nate! How long do you have to wait to free me...?" He ghost stopped ranting after seeing that his master, wasn't the one who freed him. "...Oh."

After the shock of a ghost coming out of a capsule, Hiro Hamada, with his usual snark, "So, this is that Yo-kai Universe I heard about..."

Whisper, shocked from a new looper knowing about Yo-kai, wondered how he heard of Yo-Kai

Hiro laughed "Well it all started when my Bonehead brother ran into a fire and became a Kitsume..."

 **2.3 GammaTron**

Keita yawned as he sat up in bed, letting his Loop Memories come out. He blinked a few times as he realized that he was now the youngest of four kids and that he had the Yokai Watch for roughly two months now. The door opened up, making him look and see a familiar face peek in.

"Morning, Keita!" Ruby greeted, a ruby-red Yokai Watch around her neck on a rose-colored chain, "You Awake now? Mom and Dad are out so Grif's making us Anchor-shaped pancakes!"

"Yeah. I'm Awake, Ruby," Keita replied, "Just woke up right now."

"Great!" Ruby beamed, "Everyone else is awake and since it's summer break, we're gonna be having some fun!"

"That's great to hear, Ruby," Keita nodded.

"Cool! And hi, Whisper!" Ruby greeted the shocked ghost before she dashed off, leaving behind rose petals.

"Where did she get a Yokai Watch?!" Whisper gawked.

"Anchor-shaped pancakes..." Keita gawked, seeing the pancakes were in the shape of different anchors.

"What? You Loop in as a chef you learn how to get creative in your cooking," Grif shrugged, an orange Yokai Watch U on his wrist as he put the last plate on the table.

"Mornin'..." Yang mumbled as she saw down.

"Dang it, Yang! At least put on some pajama bottoms!" Grif snapped as Whisper quickly covered Keita's eyes, "And when did you get a tattoo?!"

"A dare with Blake. Blake won," Yang replied as she pulled a pair of short-shorts from her Pocket and slipped them on.

Grif sighed as he facepalmed, "You want honey or syrup with your pancakes?"

"Honey. Always honey, Grif. You know that."

"I know. Just making sure you were Awake-awake and not just dreaming," Grif replied as he poured the honey on her pancakes, "Because Unawake you liked syrup more than honey."

"So dad's a professional boxer while mom travels all over Japan for a magazine this Loop?" Keita pondered.

"Yep!" Ruby beamed.

"So you're Whisper, huh," Yang looked the ghost over.

"You're not even wearing a Yokai Watch!" Whisper facefaulted.

"I let her look through mine," Ruby explained.

"Glad you're Looping, Whisper," Grif patted the ghost, "Thanks for being there for Keita through all this. You're a great butler."

"Oh come now..." Whisper sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"So once we're done here, what's the plan, Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Well, I was thinking since this is Keita's hometown, he'd give a tour?" Ruby noted.

"Really? Well, sure," Keita agreed.

"Here," Whisper handed Yang a normal pendant Yokai Watch, "For some reason, I had both versions of the first model this Loop."

"Where do you even get them if Keita's gramps is the one who made them long after you got sealed up?" Grif asked.

"Hmm... An excellent question," Whisper rubbed his chin in thought.

"He has no idea how it happens," Keita shrugged.

"This is kinda nice," Grif noted as they walked down the shopping district, "Feels like back home in Hawaii, except there's no pineapple factory outside of town."

"Yeah. Wait, what?" Keita looked at Grif.

"Sale!" Yang and Ruby squealed as they ran into the clothing store.

"... We lost them already," Grif noted, "... Well, we might as well go in. Donut's been wanting a new sweater since his last one was eaten by a goat that mistook it for grass."

"Seriously?" Keita gawked.

"It's a brother's job to carry the bags," Grif shrugged, "Lucky for us? Pockets."

"Right," Keita nodded.

"Plus, if you see something, we can just sneak it into our Pockets for later," Grif chuckled.

"What?!" Keita gawked.

"I'm just kidding, kiddo," Grif messed with Keita's hair as they entered... and witnessed Yang and Ruby in a brawl with a group of other girls over a sweater, "... Wanna go somewhere else, Keita?"

"Oh yeah," Keita replied.

"... We're coming back later to hang out here," Yang informed as she looked at the beach and the open restaurant beside it.

"Only if you agree to not flirt with boys."

"..."

"..."

"..." Grif and Yang began to laugh up a storm before calming down a few moments later.

"Seriously, though, get Ruby to rub your back with sunscreen or I will not give you your present next time we're all Looping together," Grif warned.

"Ooh~! What'd ya get me?"

"Not telling. Just so you know, took me a long time to build it too," Grif replied.

"Okay, okay," Yang snorted.

"What are they talking about?" Keita whispered.

"Well, Grif does his best to keep a pair of calendars. He checks one off each day everytime everyone from his Loop is Awake with him and one off on the other for when we're Awake with him. We all do the same to keep a special calendar for birthdays and holidays," Ruby noted before giggling, "I've never had some holidays before we started Looping and I really love Christmas because Grif makes the greatest chocolate chunk cookies with bits of strawberry in it!"

"... I knew I forgot to give him something that first Loop," Grif muttered as he quickly handed Keita a calendar, "Here you go. All up to date aside from the date of your birthday."

"Thanks, Grif," Keita nodded.

"You have quite the interesting older brother now," Whisper noted before a heavy downpour happened.

"What the...?! There weren't even any clouds in the sky!" Ruby yelped as she and Keita used their Semblance and zipped under the roof of the restaurant nearby.

"This doesn't seem natural," Grif admitted before noticing Yang's hair - while normally in its normal looks even in the rain - was now straight and matted down, "What the heck?"

Yang sighed. Keita, Ruby, and Grif looked through their Yokai Watches to see a girl who looked like she's been in the rain too much beside Yang.

"An Ame-Onna," Whisper noted.

"... I'll go find the sun head," Keita sighed as he walked off, pulling an umbrella out of his Pocket.

"Ugh! That was weird!" Yang shuddered as she finished drying her hair while walking out of the women's restroom in a fresh pair of her normal clothes, "Is that how it feels when you get Inspirited by those guys, Keita?"

"Yeah," Keita shrugged, "But it's not all that bad. They're all good friends."

"I really like this park," Ruby noted, giggling at seeing the swan boats on the lake, "It's places like these that make me think that everything will be all right for everyone in the Loops." she sighed, "Unlike Baseline back home..."

"Huh? What do you mean, Ruby?" Keita asked, looking at the other two to see Yang rubbing her arm and Grif's shaking.

"Keita, let's just say that their baseline is messed up near the end of its run," Grif informed, "So let's all agree to drop it and not bring it up or that my sister is dating another girl right now."

"Huh?"

"Grif!"

"What? You know that while I support your relationship with another girl, I'm still miffed that I can't put the fear of Bears into her because she puts the fear of Cats into me."

"Fear of Bears?"

"Keita, wa..." Grif began.

BEARS!

"What was that?" Keita asked, looking around.

"You type that you love the Bears gag from the Completionist one time, one fucking time, and it screws you over...!" Grif muttered under his breath.

"His admin thought it'd be funny that since Grif has such a bear-theme to him to have that happen whenever someone ends their sentences with that word in either singular or plural," Ruby explained.

"So we can't say bears?"

BEARS!

"So long as you don't end your sentence in it, we're good," Ruby replied as Yang snickered at the slumped Grif.

"You got that upgraded Meta Armor?!" Ruby gawked at Keita.

"Y - Yeah... Don't you...?" Keita began.

"No," Ruby pouted.

"For some reason, she always ends up not getting to go to Chorus when she loops in," Yang explained, "Last time, Ruby tried to sneak in and ended up on the wrong ship, getting sent off to Hoth."

"Yaaaang~!" Ruby whined.

"..." Yang made a few claps with her hands, returned by Grif, before both nodded and banged fists.

"Ruby, you forgot what today was, right?" Grif asked.

"Huh?" Ruby took out her calendar and looked it over before gasping, "You mean...?"

"Yang, Weiss, and Blake helped me out with detailing it for you," Grif informed as he pulled out a large package.

"Happy birthday, sis!" Yang beamed.

"Eeeeeeee!" Ruby cheered as she grabbed the box and tore it to shreds, revealing the Meta's armor detailed in a wolf-theme, "You are the bestest big brother and sister ever!"

"Wait. It's Ruby's birthday?" Keita asked.

"Her birthday in Looping," Grif corrected.

"Oh... But..."

"You showing us around was more than enough for the first present, Keita," Ruby assured as she tried on the armor and looking at herself in the living room's full-sized mirror, her cloak fluttering with each movement, "I love it! Hey, what about the AI issue?"

"We had to ask Applebloom from Equestria to handle that issue," Yang replied.

"Awesome!" Ruby bounced a bit.

"..." a hand was put on Keita's shoulder as he watched the two talking together.

"Don't worry, Keita," Grif assured, "We're all family now. No one's going to be forgotten or left behind here."

"Thanks, Grif," Keita nodded.

Whisper smiled a bit as he watched the four, 'It seems that this Looping has done a good job for you, Keita-kun.'

 **2.4**

Yu Narukami walked calmly down the Samegawa flood plains of Inaba while contemplating what course of action he should take this loop.

Jibanyan yawned as the silver haired teen walked passed him… only to turn around and stare at the strange two tailed cat laying on the grass. Jibanyan gave another yawn and opened one of his eyes - and closed it again after a quick glance at the person whom was looking at him…

"Wait, you can see me!?" Jibanyan suddenly sprung up in realization.

"Yes, I suppose that's not common for you?"

"No," Jibanyan shook his head, he glanced around the area he was in. "… Where am I anyway?"

"Inaba - are you a demon?"

"Demon? No, my name's Jibanyan - I'm a yo-kai!" Jibanyan exclaimed while jumping up briefly. "So, this might be a weird question but, are you a looper?"

.

"Team, this is Jibanyan," Yu introduced the cat yo-kai to the awake investigation team as they all sat at the Junes food court.

"Hi!" Jibanyan waved.

"… A cat?" Yosuke questioned blankly.

"He's a looper," Yu stated calmly before he proceeded to introduce Jibanyan to each of the members of his team.

"This is so weird, I've nyever woken up in a different city before," Jibanyan said as he looked around.

"So I take it this is your first fused loop?" Naoto questioned as she eyed Jibanyan's two tails.

"I guess so," Jibanyan shrugged before pulling a chocobo bar out of his sub-space pocket to eat.

"Why is a cat eating a chocolate bar? Is that even ok?" Yosuke asked as he watched the scene, Yukiko let out a small chuckle.

"A cat eating chocolate," she giggled. Yosuke looked at her in confusion.

"In what way is that funny?"

.

"Say Jibanyan, wanna help me 'score' with some of the ladies," Teddie asked the yo-kai as they hung out in Yosuke's house. "I heard the ladies love cute cats - not as much as bears of course - but I bet we could double our 'scoring' power if we worked together."

"Hmm… sounds like a plan, why nyot?" Jibanyan smirked as he gripped Teddie's paw. "We'll 'score' all the hot girls!"

"Would you two stop saying 'score!' And why does the cat have to stay at my house!?" Yosuke shouted from down the hall.

.

"What did you learn?" Yu questioned as he sat by Jibanyan and Teddie, both nursing bruises on their heads.

"Chie. Kicks. Hard!" Jibanyan groaned while rubbing his head.

"I did tell you that," Teddie sighed while patting the cat's shoulder.

.

"… Hey, Jibanyan?" Kanji looked at the small cat yo-kai whom was eating a chocolate bar.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Can I… pet you?"

"What? Oh, ok - fine." Jibanyan sighed before Kanji began to stroke his head a bit.

"So soft…"

"Ok! Getting weird!"

.

"I am you, what do you have to say to that you lazy, good for nothing, lame cat!?" The shadow Jibanyan growled as he glared his counterpart down, Jibanyan had insisted on going into the TV world with them to help with the Izanami, though they had all expected this.

"Lame!? Let me tell you something you impawster - I remember what happened clearly and Amy never called me lame!" Jibanyan growled back at the shadow - The investigation team stood away from the scene - knowing this was for the yo-kai to face on his own.

"You're useless to Nate though - When have you truly ever been able to help him with a problem!? You're nothing but a lazy, worse than dead, cat!" Jibanyan stared at the shadow for a few seconds before shrugging.

"Yeah, maybe," Both the investigation team and the shadow were surprised by the nonchalant way he responded to his personal demons. "I guess I am pretty lazy sometimes… Nyate usually calls me when I'm in the middle of something anyway." Jibanyan stared at the shadow dead in the eyes. "But… That's who I am! We all have flaws, and we can work to better ourselves - especially with the loops, so how about you stop taunting me and help meowt?"

Jibanyan's shadow stared wide eyed, before it glowed and changed form - in the place of the shadow came a tiger-sized, dark red, upright standing cat - Fire blazed on its back and trailed down its spine until it hit the tips of its twin tails.

"Cool, so this is one of those personya things?" Jibanyan questioned the investigation team after the persona disappeared into a card.

"Wow! I guess you were already comfortable with yourself!" Teddie praised. Jibanyan paused for a moment and thought back to something that happened to him in baseline.

"Huh… I guess I already faced my demons…"

 **2.5**

"I would introduce myself, but I do believe you already know who I am," Robonyan stated as he stood before Nate, Jibanyan, and Whisper.

"Wait, what?" Nate blinked.

"You have already lived this moment before, and experienced variations to it as well," Robonyan nodded his head.

"You remember other loops!?" Jibanyan cried in shock.

"Correct - I am you."

"Oh yeah," Jibanyan scratched his head. Before his eyes widened. "So you're looping!?"

"Negative."

"Wait, no?" Nate questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"But you just said you remember different loops," Whisper pointed out.

"Yes - but through the eyes of Jibanyan, not the Robonyans of those loops. I remember this past experience as Jibanyan, and all that came before it, because I am Jibanyan," Robonyan explained in his typical robotic voice.

"So… you're nyot looping… but you have my memories of the loops?" Jibanyan questioned with a tilt of the head. Robonyan nodded with a click.

"Correct."

"Oh… so we're not doing the competition again?"

"Negative," Robonyan stated before he began teleporting back to the future in his usual fashion. "I'll be back."

 **2.6**

If there was one odd quark about Nate/Keita's life - it perhaps would be that no matter where, or when he fished, it seemed that he was incapable of ever reeling anything in other then the mermaid-like yo-kai: Ningyo. The only time he had been able to fish without catching Ningyo had been during one of those variants where fishing and bug catching were weird, spinning wheel mini-games - and he did not consider that real fishing.

This odd relationship was generally considered unpleasant for all parties involved - Nate/Keita because he could never enjoy a normal fishing trip - and Ningyo for the random disturbances that happened whenever Nate/Keita tried.

.

"Whisper, Jibanyan. I have a goal this loop!" The two aforementioned yo-kai looked over to see their Anchor in full fishing gear with several different fishing rods strapped to his back. "I'm going fishing - and I will catch a fish instead of Ningyo at some point!"

"Keita, you've nyever been able to catch anything but her - just don't try. She's just going to get mad," Jibanyan stated with a yawn as he ate a chocobo bar.

"Jibanyan's right Kaita-kun. Why don't we take a vacation loop or something instead? Whis."

"Nope!" Keita denied both of the yo-kai before he turned to leave. "It's summer vacation this loop - Mom and Dad are both away on business trips, now's the perfect time! I'm not giving up until I have caught a fish! Bye guys! The next time you see me I'll have a fish - a regular fish!" After Keita left the two yo-kai glanced at each other.

"… Well… wonder how long until he gives up," Jibanyan sighed.

"I give him two hours. Whis."

"I say one."

"I'll take you up on that wager."

.

"Ok, I am not giving up until I've caught a fish - a regular not - yo-kai fish!" Keita did a few stretches as he looked at the lake - here he was, up on Mt. Wildwood and ready to begin his fishing venture. "I will not catch Ningyo… I will not catch Ningyo… I will not catch Ningyo," Keita chanted to himself with his eyes close as he held up a fishing rod. "I will not catch Ningyo…" he tossed the line into the water and sat down, prepared to wait for a bite.

When Keita felt a tug on his rod he pulled with all his might to pull up the fish.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Keita stared at the mermaid-like yo-kai that stared at him from the end of his fishing line… and sighed. "Sir, Could you not fish here right now? I was in the middle of doing yoga and I'd rather not be disturbed," Keita nodded before getting up.

"I'll go further up-stream."

"Ok, thanks."

.

"This time for sure," Keita said as he watched his fishing line carefully. "I will not catch Ningyo… I will not catch Ningyo," a tug on the line - Keita tugged back and reeled in-

"Again!?" Keita's eye twitched as he stared at the irritated Ningyo that stared back at him.

"Sir, I thought I said I was in the middle of something," she crossed her arms as she glared at him.

"You were down there!" Keita shouted pointing back where he had first fished her out - before any arguing could occur Keita threw the yo-kai back and she submerged under the water. "Ok I can see where this is going - I will not let this go the same as in baseline!" the anchor shouted as he paced a bit in thought. "I know. Hey! Ningyo!" Keita called out into the water.

*Splash!*

"How did you know my name!?" The aquatic yo-kai questioned with wide-eyes after resurfacing.

"Because you are a Ningyo! But never mind that!" She crossed her arms at that exclamation. "I'm going to fish at the ocean! Stay here!"

"I was planning to, but thanks! I guess," Ningyo muttered that last part as she watched Keita leave in a hurry.

.

"Ok! This is going to work, I told her where I was going, she said she would stay at the lake. I will not catch Ningyo," Keita muttered to himself as he stood on the sand of the beach, looking out into the ocean. "Here I go." He threw his line into the ocean and awaited his catch - his first _real_ catch.

*Tugtug*

*Pull!*

*Splash!*

"Hey!"

"Ningyo!?" Keita cried out as the yo-kai hanging from his fishing hook glared at him. "I told you to stay at the lake!"

"I was in the lake! You pulled me all the way over here with your evil fishing rod!" Ningyo shouted back accusingly. Keita groaned before he threw her back into the ocean.

"I need to try something else…"

.

"Hey, stop doing that!" Ningyo cried out after Keita fished her up for the third time - however she was surprised when he sat her beside him as he continued to stare at the river. "Huh?"

"Stay put, right there. I will catch a fish. And we will go our separate ways," Keita said with an air of determination surrounding him.

"Um… ok," Ningyo muttered in an almost mystified way. Keita nodded before he tossed his fishing line into the river.

…

*Tug*

"Now!"

*Splash!*

"Hey, let me off of this thing!" Ningyo cried as she hung from the fishing line. Keita's jaw dropped, he looked at the spot next to him where he had set the aquatic yo-kai-only to find nothing there other than a small, indent in the dirt.

"But - but, how!?" Keita cried out as he looked between the struggling yo-kai and the spot next to him.

.

"This is more ridicules then fishing in a bucket, or a puddle," Keita growled as he dipped his fishing line into the water bowl of a dog sleeping in its doghouse. "But I don't care! I won't catch that Ningyo!" This yell woke up the dog, and made some people stare. Luckily the dog wasn't aggressive and went back to sleep.

…

*Tug*

*Splash!*

"How is this even possible!?" Keita clutched his head as he stared at the mermaid-like yo-kai laying on the ground in front of him.

"How did I come out of a dog dish!?"Ningyo shouted - apparently just as baffled by Keita at this outcome.

.

The sound of the door being slammed open caught the attention of Jibanyan and Whisper, whom looked up from watching TV as a disgruntled looking Keita walked into the house.

"Keita-kun! Welcome back, did you catch any fish?" Whisper questioned, but Keita ignored him as he walked through the living room and into the kitchen. They watched as he filled a small glass with water and set it on the ground… before dipping his fishing line in it.

"… Um, Keita, are you ok?" Jibanyan questioned with a sweatdrop at the peculiar scene. Keita remained silence as he watched the glass of water intensely.

*Tug* Keita pulled the line out of the glass.

*Splash*

"Ow!" Ningyo cried as she sat on the kitchen floor. "Why did you do that!?" She growled as she glared at Keita. Keita raised his hands in the air and yelled.

"That's it! I'm done! Move over guys!" Keita went over to the couch and roughly sat between Whisper and Jibanyan. Ningyo stared at the scene for a few seconds before she shrugged and joined them.

"How long did he last?" Jibanyan questioned Whisper quietly.

"About…" Whisper looked at the clock before whispering in Jibanyan's ear. "Three hours."

"… Well, it was longer than we thought he'd last."

"Let's call this wager a tie. Whis."

"Agreed."

 **2.7 KaiserRichard**

Nate was reading on of his many mangas, in a mostly normal baseline. Quote, MOSTLY normal. He partly wondered if all of his extra luck in this loop came from him befriending Pandanoko when he was supposed to get Noko's medal. In any case he heard a knock on the door of his closet. "Hmm? Is Hidabat giving me the 3rd watch earlier in this loop?" He thought as he opened the door to his closet.

Inside, Hidabat seemed to be a bit more scared than usual. "Nate?" she asked in her meek voice "Is it normal for me to remember things that haven't happened yet?"

Shocked, Nate called out for Whisper "WHISPER! Hibabat woke up!" He turned back to the bat, "Don't worry Hibabat, Me and Whisper will explain everything..."

 **2.8**

"So wait, this loop we're in like, a middle-age kingdom and I'm a prince?" Keita questioned as he followed Whisper through the castle - garbed in some sort of royal robe with a star emblem on the chest.

"It seems that way to me. Whis," Whisper nodded as he led them. "I'm apparently the royal advisor and your guardian - I always knew I would make a great advisor."

"I don't suppose you use your yo-kai pad for that," Keita muttered while glaring at the proud yo-kai. "So wait, everyone can see yo-kai this loop?"

"Yes, that appears to be the case this time. Whis."

"Huh… well, what are we supposed to do?"

"Hey Keita," Keita looked over at where the shy voice had come from and spotted Hikikomori peeking out from one of the many doors that lined the halls.

"Hikikomori? Hello- Are you awake and loopy?" Keita asked quietly - the small bat-like yo-kai nodded.

"This is a pretty strange variant…" She commented with a glance at the castle. "Would you believe I'm your combat instructor this loop?"

"Combat instructor!?" Both Keita and Whisper were very surprised to hear this – Hikikomori - or Hidabat as she was sometimes called - was generally not much of a fighter as far as they could remember. But a quick look at their loop memories confirmed that the shut-in was indeed Keita's combat instructor this loop - and apparently was very skilled with a sword.

.

"Hikikomori, I already know how to fight," Keita insisted as he stood before his supposed teacher from across the room as she stood there, polishing a basic longsword.

"Yes, I know. But still, I'd like to test out what I can do in this loop - my abilities here are much higher than in our baseline."

"What do you mean?" Keita questioned, he searched his memories for what exactly was different about Hikikomori this loop when he came to a little piece of information. "Wait… combat mode?"

A flash of darkness filled the room and Keita's eyes widened as he watched Hikikomori transform - she took on a vaguely humanoid shape with long, spindly limbs. Her nose and eyes were the same but she now possessed a mouth with two, large protruding fangs. Her wing's pattern remained the same but they had become much larger and were no longer wrapped around her body.

"Combat mode," She answered with a brief nod. The changed yo-kai held up her sword and smiled, showing off her fangs. "So, how about a bit of sparring?"

.

"I got to admit Hikikomori, that combat mode is pretty tough - but I'm still much older then you loop-wise," Keita wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood by Hikikomori whom had reverted back to her original form. He held Crescent Rose in hand.

"I may have gotten a bit overconfident… I've never felt that way before," Hikikomori admitted as she pulled herself back to her feet with a huff.

"Yeah, it was like your personality completely changed," Keita scratched his head. "It might have been a side-effect of that combat mode… or just a trait of your unawake self this loop…"

"I don't know, but I think I'll stay in here for the rest of the loop… there aren't any computers so I think I'll practice my sword fighting," The bat yo-kai said as she glanced around at the training equipment.

"Ok then…" Keita nodded with a small smile, combat mode or not, closet or training room, it seemed Hikikomori was still a shut-in.

.

"So apparently, yo-kai in this loop have something called a 'combat mode' though not all of them, mostly members of the army," Keita muttered to himself as he checked his in-loop memories again.

"There's a lot of stuff to remember about this loop. Whis," Whisper muttered as he followed behind his master - and prince for this loop.

"Do you have a combat mode Whisper?" Keita questioned, turning back to his butler–turned - advisor. Whisper puffed up in confidence.

"Of course I do, I wouldn't be very good at protecting you if I didn't!"

"I don't know… for some reason the in-loop memories of your combat mode are kind of fuzzy," Keita said with a scratch of the head. Whisper just grinned.

"Well then, I'll just show you!" and with that a white glow filled the hall, Keita covered his eyes until the light faded, at which time he looked to see.

"What the!? Why is it that weird body!?" Keita cried out, seeing the strange, skinny body that Whisper usually had at the end of their loop due to 'something bad happening.' "I bet I blocked those memories out subconsciously."

"Honestly Keita-kun it's not that bad, plus I feel much stronger!" Whisper exclaimed, while flexing in front of the now horrified Keita.

"AH!"

"… Really, I think that was a bit of an over-reaction. Whis," Whisper sighed as he watched Keita run down the hall. A human guard passed by and stopped for a moment to stare at Whisper. "What are you looking at?"

.

"Keita-kun, you'll be meeting with your fiancé in a little bit, so make sure to be on your best behavior," Keita's mother - right now the queen of the kingdom of Yo-kai(Keita was not impressed with the name) said from her position on a throne, with his father on the throne next to her. Both had crowns on their heads and royal-looking robes.

"Ok mom, I will," Keita nodded before he turned to explore some more with the now back to normal(thankfully) Whisper. "Wait… did mom just say fiancé?"

"Yes Keita-kun, you have a fiancé," Whisper answered nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.

"How can I have a fiancé!? I'm twelve!"

"Keita, you're the prince of a kingdom with a lot of enemies… apparently. Anyway in this kind of setting it makes sense to have a suitor prepared for you as soon as possible," Whisper explained calmly.

"Uh, this is going to be awkward, it's not even Fumi-chan," Keita sighed with his head hanging low.

.

"Hello Keita-kun," The princess greeted her fiancé with a polite bow that Keita returned.

"Good to see you… Misora-san," Keita said after quickly fishing through his loop memories for this girl's name. The bespectacled(how was it that they were in a middle-age type setting, but glasses still existed?) girl smiled amusedly.

"Keita-kun, we are to be married, there is no need to be so formal. Please refer to me as 'Inaho-chan.'"

"Um…" Keita looked unsure, he glanced at the purple haired princess' side and spotted what he recognized to be a USApyon, only the spacesuit was replaced with a small suit of knight armor.

"Just do as she says, it will be less trouble for everyone," The knight USApyon said with an exasperated sigh.

"Right… sorry, Inaho-chan," Keita sighed at how awkward this was - he didn't even have too many in-loop memories of this girl, he wasn't even sure his unawake self for the loop would have known what to say to her.

"Don't worry about it, we're both in the same boat after all," Inaho said in a good natured way as she took a seat next to him. "Luckily we still have four more years to enjoy ourselves before they force us into those chairs."

"Inaho!" USApyon quickly began scolding the visiting princess for her brashness, though Keita stared as the two of them began arguing about manners - or whatever.

"…Geez," Keita muttered to himself. Whisper had apparently gone off to do his job as an advisor, so USApyon was technically in charge of both him and Inaho right now… meaning he could not leave the room.

"Psst," Keita looked over at Inaho while USApyon continued to rant with his back turned to them.

"What?" Keita questioned quietly, Inaho glanced over at the armored yo-kai before giving him a sly smirk.

"Wanna ditch the rabbit and go into town?"

"… Yes."

.

Keita and Inaho both laughed as they ran through the town disguised by some old robes Inaho apparently kept for this kind of occasion. Ditching USApyon hadn't been hard, they just snuck out of the room while he wasn't looking, and by the time they heard his scream of realization they were already far enough away to make a run for it.

"Ah, good to be able to get out and enjoy the fresh air, wouldn't you say?" Inaho said as she did a few twirls while looking around town.

"I guess it's good to be out of the castle for a bit," Keita said, doing a couple of stretches - from his in-loop memories he knew that he hadn't really been out of the castle very often before, so he didn't have many memories of this town - honestly he found the layout to be pretty similar to uptown back home - though the castle was in the position the school would've been in.

"Right, you know how it is. I need to sneak out every now and then - though a lot of the time my brother catches me and tells mom and dad or USApyon, and then they stop me - so I'm going to enjoy this!" Keita nodded to his in-loop fiancé briefly before he decided to take in the sights a bit more while she walked off to look at the fountain.

It was quite a strange sight to behold compared to baseline, yo-kai walked the streets just as any other person - they were greeted by the humans as if they were one of their own, and they greeted the humans back in kind, it was rather serene.

*CRASH!*

"Zura! I'm so sorry!" Keita looked over and spotted… Komasan? He appeared to have been pulling a wheelbarrow full of vegetables but he had accidentally bumped into-

"Sorry!? You some kind of wise guy!" The reptilian yo-kai growled as he held Komasan by the scruff of his neck.

"Gurerurin," Keita muttered as he watched the display.

"Please sir, I need to get home to my brother! I'm really sorry, zura," Komasan moved around a bit in Gurerurin's grip but he just scowled at the lion-dog.

"Oh, so you're in a pretty big hurry, huh? Well how about I give you a knuckle sandwich for the road!"

"Hey!" Gurerurin looked over at whom had interrupted him and saw the disguised Keita glaring in his direction. "Put him down."

"… Or what?" The reptilian yo-kai taunted as he waved Komasan around a bit.

"Oh, I'm getting woozy," Komasan muttered dizzily as he was waved around like a stuffed toy. Keita clenched his teeth as he reached into his sup-space pocket for his Crescent Rose, but before he could.

"Take this!" Gurerurin dodged the sword slash quickly, dropping Komasan in the process - both Gurerurin and Keita looked in both surprise and confusion at who held the sword; Inaho. "Being a bully is not ok! You can't push others around just because you're bigger than them!" Gurerurin growled as he glared at the newcomer - but she held a sword while he was armed with nothing but his fists.

"I don't know who youz guys think you are, but you better watch your backs," the hooligan stated before running off into an alleyway. Inaho helped Komasan back to his feet.

"Oh, thanks for your help. Zura," Komasan bowed in thanks to both of the disguised royals.

"It wasn't a problem, people shouldn't treat each other that way," Inaho said firmly. Komasan nodded before he gathered up his supplies and continued on his trek home. "Humph, jerks like that shouldn't just be allowed to do whatever they want."

"I'll have to agree, lucky for him that you stepped in, cause he might not have survived what I would've done to him," Keita chuckled - he wasn't serious of course, he could definitely beat the yo-kai within an inch of his life and beyond if he _wanted_ to - there was no doubt about that. But he would never do such a thing so lightly, besides, he knew deep down Gurerurin wasn't really that bad.

"Sure, and I bet you've got all sorts of weapons hidden on your person," Inaho smiled despite not being convinced as she returned her sword to its hidden sheath on her back.

"Why not? You had a sword."

"Well I'm very good at concealing weaponry," Inaho said smugly.

"Oh yeah? How's this for concealed?" Keita questioned before he pulled Crescent Rose from his sub-space pocket and unfurled it into scythe mode. Inaho just stared blankly.

"… Where did that come from!?"

"Not telling."

"What? Come on!"

"Nope."

"Aww…" Inaho drooped a bit, feeling she had been out-done. Keita sighed before looking back in the direction of the castle.

"We should get back before they start freaking out."

.

Gurerurin gasped for breath as he ran into a building down a dark alleyway, there were other Gurerurins around the area polishing weapons and hitting punching bags. Gurerurin stepped before a larger yo-kai and bowed.

"Lord Gokudo. I have some interesting news."

"What do you have for me number 16? It better be good," The leader yo-kai questioned gruffly.

"I spotted the prince and his fiancé wandering about - They wore commoner clothes but the dumb kids didn't even bother to conceal their faces," the Gurerurin dubbed 'number 16' chuckled.

"Are you absolutely sure it was them?"

"Yes - the little brat of a princess threatened me with a sword - they're likely going to be heading back to the castle soon, but if we move quick maybe…" number 16 looked at Gokudo expectedly with a smirk on his face, a smirk that Gokudo returned.

"We can get a hold of those brats and use them to take control of both of their kingdoms. Ha! Excellent work number 16! Boys, it looks like we've got work to do!"

.

Keita and Inaho were both headed back to the castle, sounds were heard from nearby alleys and Keita noticed the sun was starting to set.

"Hey Inaho, do you think maybe we took a bit too long out here?" Keita asked, he looked around the area-something felt off.

"Nah, I've been gone from my castle way longer then this before. We'll just tell them we got lost in the hallways or something."

"If you say so - but I feel like we're being watched-" Keita was cut off when a Gurerurin jumped out from the shadows and tried to grab him. Keita jumped back and unfurled Crescent Rose and held it threateningly while Inaho held her sword.

"Thought I didn't recognize you, huh?" The Gurerurin questioned with a smirk while two others came to his side. "Prince, Princess. The two of you are coming with us!" Keita and Inaho glanced at each other and smirked before they charged at the yo-kai with their weapons.

 **Next loop**

"Man, that was an exciting loop," Keita laughed as he walked to school with Whisper beside him.

"Maybe for you - I was stuck in the castle while you were on your 'epic quest.'" The ghost scoffed as they walked through the gate. "Well at least I got that combat mode out of it."

"Don't you dare!" Keita growled - not wanting to see that weird body of Whisper's again. He noticed someone walking towards the building and smiled. "Um, hey!"

Inaho looked over at the boy calling her in confusion as he approached.

"Um, I don't think we've spoken - but my name's Keita. And I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and my friends?" Inaho gave him an odd look for a second, but smiled after a moment.

"Oh, sure thing! By the way, my name's Inaho."

 **2.9**

"Well, this should prove to be a very interesting loop," The white haired boy spoke in Whisper's voice as he looked at the yo-kai he had just freed from the Crank-a-Kai.

Nate looked at his ghostly body for a minute before shrugging.

"I have wondered what it was like to be a yo-kai. I guess now I'll find out."

 **2.10**

"Hey guys!" Keita's human friends looked over to see him waving his arms wildly. "Come with me if you want to be part of something amazing!"

"What's Keita talking about?" Kuma questioned blankly.

"I don't know… he's been kind of absent lately," Fumi muttered worriedly.

"Yeah… maybe if we follow him we'll find out what's been occupying his time," Kaanchi suggested - the other two nodded before they started following Keita.

.

"Keita-kun, where exactly are we going?" Fumi asked as they all walked up the trail to mount Wildwood. Keita chuckled before turning to his friends.

"You'll see soon… oh, you'll need these," Keita quickly handed the three a Yo-kai Watch each, they looked at them in confusion.

"Hey Keita, what's with these weird watches?" Kuma questioned as he looked it over.

"These designs… wait, these are like that watch you started wearing lately," Kaanchi concluded after a second of thought - Keita held up his wrist proudly confirming this.

"Come to think of it… doesn't Inaho wear the same one," Fumi questioned after a moment.

"Hey that's true - what's going on Keita? Do you and Inaho-chan have a secret club or something you plan to have us join?" Kuma asked.

"Something like that…" Keita chuckled in a knowing way. "Don't worry, all will be clear when we get there," Keita stated before they continued up - when they got to the shrine they were met with another.

"Hello everyone! I see everything went according to plan, Keita-kun," Inaho greeted them with the same knowing smile as Keita.

"Seriously, what's going on here - you two are being kind of creepy," Fumi muttered as she looked between them.

"Very creepy…" Kaanchi nodded in agreement, before Kuma did as well. Keita and Inaho traded smiles for a moment before looking back at their friends.

"Why don't you guys shine those watch lights around us?" Keita suggested.

"Watch lights?" Kuma questioned while Fumi turned on her watch and Kaanchi examined his. Fumi suddenly let out a scream that caught the other two's attention.

"G-guy's! G-ghost!"

They quickly shined their lights where she was pointing and were shocked at what did indeed appear to be a small, white ghost of sorts.

"Hello, I am Whisper - it's a pleasure to meet you," Whisper bowed with a wide smile on his face.

"Hiya, I'm Jibanyan!" They were surprised by the appearance of another strange creature that stood by; a two tailed cat creature, and there was also a… rabbit in a spacesuit?

"Introduce yourself USApyon," Inaho prompted.

"Right, Hello, I'm USApyon," he bowed.

"We are yo-kai!" The three creatures said together. Fumi, Kuma and Kaanchi just stared wide-eyed for a few moments while Keita and Inaho snickered a bit at their expressions.

"Yo-kai Keita-kun?" Fumi looked at Keita blankly before his others friends also looked over.

"Correct, yo-kai are normally invisible to you humans but those Yo-kai Watches allow you to see and interact with us, like those two have been doing for a while," Whisper explained, Jibanyan had curled up and was taking a nap already.

"What!? Keita what's going on here!?" Kuma shouted while Fumi and Kaanchi both tried to process it.

"It's as he said, me and Inaho have been interacting with yo-kai with the Yo-kai Watches for a while," Keita stated before turning to Inaho.

"We've had a detective organization to help deal with yo-kai crimes going on in town, and we could use some more members," Inaho said while Keita nodded.

"And that's why we decided to let you guys in on the secret."

"…So you want us to join a detective agencies to help with crimes among invisible creatures… that you're telling us have existed right under our noses this whole time and you two have known about for a while?" Fumi questioned - Kuma and Kaanchi were just staring Jibanyan and USApyon - the rabbit berating the cat for falling asleep right now.

"Yes, that is what is going on," Keita smiled.

"… Is there any other mind blowing secrets you'd like to reveal?"

"Hmm… I can fly," Keita hovered a few feet off the ground to prove his words - his friends didn't last too long after that.

*THUD!*

 **2.11**

Nate carefully polished Crescent Rose while sitting by the Crank-a-Kai near the mount Wildwood shrine - this loop was following sort of a mixture of baseline and a game variant and he had just the other night used his trusty weapon to defeat Sproink single-handedly.

After he had finished he looked at the weapon closely and frowned.

"Nate, what's going on?" Nate looked over at his yo-kai butler and friend as he floated over.

"Oh, hey Whisper - what's up?" he stood up and folded Crescent Rose into its compact form.

"Well, you've been pretty focused on your weapon this loop, you seemed very proud when you managed to defeat that boss yo-kai on your own - but now you seem trouble, what's on your mind?"

Nate nodded at Whisper's words as something had been troubling him, in regards to his weapon that is.

"Well… I've been thinking, I haven't had a loop back to Remnant for a while… I'm running low on dust," he looked back at Crescent Rose again. "Crescent Rose is my main offensive weapon… even if I can shoot ki blasts and summon yo-kai, it's what I rely on to fight - I'm just not that strong yet. But at this rate it won't be usable until I manage to loop back to Remnant, or have the luck to have a loop where dust exists."

"I suppose I can see the problem there, even though you never had a weapon in baseline, you've grown fond of being able to defend yourself."

"Not just that," Nate stood up and crossed his arms after returning Crescent Rose to his pocket. "Crescent Rose is Ruby's weapon. I may have gained the memories of building it when I replaced her, but it was still her who had created it. Mine is just a copy, not something uniquely mine."

"A copy it may be, but you've still used it well," Whisper spoke in encouragement. Nate smiled at him.

"Not as well as if it were truly mine. I've learned a lot in the loops, including quite a bit of mechanics. I think it's time to try and make my Crescent Rose something truly my own."

.

"What do you think? Can it be done?" Nate questioned as Hidabat looked over the plans that he had written down for modifying Crescent Rose. The two of them were in Nate's closet with nothing but Hidabat's computer for illumination.

The bat yo-kai nodded a bit at the plans before looking Nate's way and giving a thumbs up.

"I don't see anything wrong with the main idea, I can order the parts you want. Though it may take a day or two for them to come."

"Great! This is going to be awesome!"

.

"What's going on? Is Nyate done changing his scythe-gun-thing yet?" Jibanyan questioned while sitting on his human friends bed, Whisper hovering by. Nate was currently within his closet working on his Crescent Rose - Hidabat not really minding his presence, considering it was _his_ closet in the first place - and she had helped him obtain some parts that he wanted to use for it.

That was the extent that Whisper and Jibanyan knew - what exactly the modifications were and what kind of parts Hidabat had helped Nate obtain were unknown to the two.

"His parent's will be home soon, he better take a break," Whisper sighed.

"Yeah, don't want them finding out about this," The cat yo-kai nodded. Suddenly the door to the closet opened and they looked to see a proud Nate stepping out holding what looked like a white Crescent Rose in gun mode.

"Hello guys, I'd like to show you my new weapon - Spectral Fang!" the weapon flipped into scythe mode - revealing the blade to have a purple tint to it. Hidabat clapped quietly from in the closet while Whisper and Jibanyan stared blankly.

"… That's it? You painted it white and gave it a nyew nyame?" Jibanyan questioned with a raised brow.

"Nate… that doesn't really seem like making it your own."

"Hold up," Nate shook his head before holding the weapon up firmly. "It's not just a paint job guys, look here," he pointed to the head of the scyth, where what appeared to be the face of a Yo-kai Watch was set.

"… I don't get it, you can summon yo-kai with it?" Jibanyan questioned - Nate smirked.

"Not quite. You see I remembered that Inaho and USApyon had worked on a rocket in baseline, a rocket that was powered by yo-kai medals. It got me thinking, it seems despite being used to summon yo-kai, the medals also contain a bit of the yo-kai's power on their own. So with Hidabat's help-"

"Hi," The bat yo-kai waved timidly.

"I procured my own one of those rocket kits from which I salvaged the proper components, a couple other modifications to the color with a Cybertronian electric paint job, and here we have my Spectral Fang," The two yo-kai looked pretty clueless so Nate responded by pulling out one of Jibanyan's medals. "How about I give a demonstration?"

"… This is nyot going to affect meow? Is it?"

"Don't worry Jibanyan, it's just your medal - it won't affect you," Nate assured before he inserted the medal into the slot. A flash seemed to occur before the color pink spread across the scythe - changing its color to an exact match of the signature of the Charming(sometimes Pretty) Tribe - the purple tinted blade had become a darker shade of pink to the body.

"That's certainly something you don't see every day," Whisper commented looking a bit impressed.

"With your medal inserted the bullets Spectral Fang will fire will be fire balls, I can also slightly access the power of your paws of fury in the scythe mode allowing for many fast strikes that I wouldn't normally be able to do," Nate took the medal out of the weapon and it reverted to its white color. "It gets all of its power from yo-kai medals, so no more worrying about running out of dust."

"You seem really proud of yourself Nate," Whisper smiled slightly.

"Well I am - I can't wait to show Ruby!" Nate said eagerly. Whisper and Jibanyan chuckled.

 **2.12**

"Come on Keita, we're going to be late for school!" Kuma called to Keita's house as he, Kaanchi and Fumi stood outside.

"Coming!" Keita called back as he came out of the house. "Ok, let's go!"

"Good, we don't want detention," Kaanchi nodded as they began to walk down the sidewalk.

"Wait," Fumi stopped them and looked at Keita. "Keita-kun, you don't have your book bag." Keita blinked as they looked at him before he smiled.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll take care of that," he said before turning back to his house. "Book bag! Come!" His friends stared at Keita like he had lost his mind, before the door to his house was pushed open and his book bag came rolling out. The three kids stared wide-eyed as the bag rolled over to them and hopped into Keita's arms. "Good bag. Ok let's go."

Keita's friends stared as their friend walked down the sidewalk whistling a tune as if everything was normal.

Jibanyan chuckled from his position behind the three.

"Keita was right - That was funny."

 **2.13**

One thing that Nate/Keita had learned through his time in the loops was: No matter how many times things seemed to repeat, no matter how many times you witness the same events, you must always expect the unexpected. Because the loops can always surprise you.

.

"What!?" Nate looked around in confusion at the large wasteland. There seemed to be many cracks spreading throughout the ground like veins and… were those robot dinosaurs!?

Nate could see a pack of silver, mechanical t-rex looking things, though they also had raptor toe claws - they had red eyes and some seemed to be charging his way!

"Back off!" Nate prepared to pull Spectral Fang out if he needed to defend himself - when he noticed that he himself was one of the robotic dinosaurs. "Huh?" The mechanical predators ran right passed Nate, he watched as they charged off into the distance towards what looked like a herd of silver long-necked dinosaurs in the distance.

"… What?"

.

Keita found himself standing in what might pass for some sort of strange amusement park. There was a pool of water in the center, many strange buildings, pillars and other structures with shiny bouncing balls on them that seemed to defy gravity. And other strange, sometimes floating, or rotating objects.

Keita's thoughts were interrupted by a strange, little… thing, hovering down next to him. It looked like it was made up of four black disks with some sticks holding it together in the shape of propeller. He watched as it landed and shifted its features around to somewhat resemble a bicycle.

"Um… hello there little fella. Can you speak?" The small thing looked(?) at Keita briefly before it started wheeling forward. Keita decided to tail it since he had no idea what else to do here.

The strange little thing/creature led Keita through the park and passed the many interesting structures until they came to some sort of passage, it rolled down it before shifting its form into a simple line and it flew straight towards a strange wall at the end of the passage. But it hit it and fell back.

Keita watched with interest the little thing seemed to examine the wall that it tried to pass. The wall seemed to be made up of many transparent cubes that were rotating. And Keita watched in a slight bit of awe as the disk-stick being worked out the pattern and slipped through the wall.

And then something strange happened, it was kind of blurry to see from behind the wall but it looked like… the little thing ran into some floating shapes and then it… grew? And there were rainbow colors.

And then everything went dark.

"What!?"

.

Nate was a man made of metal… or something like that. He had no eyes but he could still see… somehow. He watched a person made of… springs or something walk down a set of stairs, and looked up and saw another metal person walking up a set of stairs that came out of the wall! And walking on that wall.

He saw another faceless person made of gold walk up a set of stairs, then turn and walk up a wall and onto another set of stairs.

"… What!?"

.

Keita was some sort of faceless person again, though he didn't seem to be made of metal this time.

He moved his feet forward turning a wheel between them and pushing him forward. The faceless people in front of him did the same, as did the ones behind him. It was just moving forward with the occasional turn, there was nothing else to their lives.

They continued over this endless wall, none could stop because if one did, the endless line of other faceless people that trailed behind them would surely fall.

"… Seriously, what's going on with these loops?"

.

Nate found himself wandering through a strange room, which seemed to be filled with nothing but many blue and gold cubes of various sizes.

Eventually he found something different, sitting atop one of the cubes was a little dome, the glass was tinted blue and gold in places and it was held together by a gold frame. Nate could see tiny pterodactyls flying around inside.

"… Huh?"

 **2.14**

"So we find ourselves in this time again," Keita whispered as he, Jibanyan and Whisper stood with Fuyunyan nearby, but just out of earshot.

"Seems so, wiss," Whisper nodded his body.

"What do you say we do things little different this time?"

.

"Your pathetic human friend can't save you now!" Ubaune laughed as Jibanyan's cage was lowered into the molten liquid.

"Wanna bet on that?" Ubaune and her minions looked over and were shocked to see Keita… flying towards them! He held out Spectral Fang and inserted Robonyan's medal into it - the mechanical scythe turned orange before he slashed it and the blade rocketed off and sliced through the time machine before flying back like a boomerang and reattaching itself to the main weapon.

"What!?" Ubaune shouted in shock and anger as her time machine fell apart right before her eyes with Kin, Gin, and Do panicking a bit, unable to do anything.

"I'll take care of them Whisper, you get Jibanyan out of the cage!" Keita said confidently as he took the Robonyan medal out of his weapon and replaced it with Merameraion's - Spectral Fang changed red and Keita gave a fired up shout before he jumped into battle.

"Can do Keita-kun. After all, what is a cage other than a kind of box?" Whisper smiled as he floated over to the trapped, feline yo-kai.

"I'm nyot sure if that's right," Jibanyan muttered, but soon the cage began glowing and floated up with Whisper holding his hands out that were also glowing. "Ok, you've made your point!" Jibanyan broke free of the cage after Whisper had set it on the ground.

"No! You're just a human! How could you defeat my servants!?" Ubaune was too distracted by Keita defeating her subordinates to notice Jibanyan sneak up behind her until he snickered.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," the cat-like yo-kai said as a glowing card appeared before him that he crushed in his paw. "Personya! Burning Nekomata!" Ubaune was knocked away by Jibanyan's Persona rather easily.

All the while Keizo and Fuyunyan watched, completely dumbfounded.

 **Two loops later**

"And then the loop crashed," Keita finished explaining to Hikikomori.

"So what did you learn from that experience?" The small, bat-like yo-kai questioned.

"Well, considering what happened - I guess not to do anything that will make my grandfather decide _not_ to make the Yo-kai Watch. I think after he saw what we did he decided to start making yo-kai weapons or something…"

"Anything else?"

"Yeah: Eiken sucks!"

 **2.15**

Ruby awoke to find herself in a rather empty house, she blinked as she looked around. This was definitely her house but things were a bit messier, and kind of lonelier… and was she sleeping on the couch.

A young sounding yawn interrupted her thoughts and she looked to see a five year old Nate cuddling her while he slept, it took her a moment to realize that she herself was not her usual age, but rather seventeen. She looked over her in - loop memories to get an understanding of exactly what was going on.

"Yes… My little brother Nate and I are on our own," Ruby sighed as the sad memories of this variant came to her.

Humanity wasn't at war with the grimm - they were at war with the oni. Her parents left to do battle with them about three years ago, and they never came back - she had been responsible for Nate ever since. She absentmindedly stroked the child's hair as she tried to think about what to do with this loop.

Other than the oni replacing the grimm, and her different family the world seemed pretty baseline. But she had not ended up going to Beacon because she needed to look after Nate, he was far too young to be left on his own.

"Ruby?" She blinked at the little voice before she looked to see her little brother looking at her sleepily. "Is it… time to get up?" Ruby frowned a bit at the innocent look in his eyes - Nate wasn't awake, that was unfortunate. If nothing else this loop could have been an opportunity to further bond with her 'younger brother.' This also meant he would be unable to take care of himself for the time being, she set off a ping and got three back - ok, so she wasn't the only one awake. She would need to work on figuring out who else was awake later. "Ruby?" Nate's voice caused her to look at him again to see him staring at her with his big, brown eyes. "Is it food time yet?" Ruby couldn't help but give a gentle smile before patting him on the head.

' _So cute,_ ' Ruby thought to herself before nodding. "Yes Nate. Go wash your hands and I'll make you some eggs and bacon," the young child followed her orders and got up from the couch and scurried to the bathroom. Ruby pulled herself up from the couch and turned towards the kitchen. "Well, better get to work."

.

It had been several months since the loop began - Ruby had learned that it was about ten years before the day she would be accepted into Beacon. Odd timing - though she supposed that would place Nate at her age at the time, but it wasn't as simple as him replacing her again. Yang didn't seem to exist this loop-or if she did she wasn't in their family - not to mention the age gap between her and Nate was much larger then between her and Yang, so she wasn't simply replacing her sister.

Still, as it was most things outside of her family seemed mostly baseline - aside from the fact that oni were a bit more intelligent than the average grimm and actually did possess souls - meaning they could use aura and could have semblances. Still while she wanted to go out and figure out exactly how much is different, maybe locate exactly whom was awake - she at least knew it wasn't Zwei, at least if his behavior was any indication. At least for the time being she was going to focus on raising the still unawake Nate.

"Big sis! Look at me! I'm up high!" Nate's high pitched voice shouted to her and she looked around from her seat on their front porch before spotting him hanging from a tree branch. She sighed and shook head, but still smiled as she walked over to the energetic five year old.

"Yes, I see you Nate. Now come down," Ruby ordered in a good natured tone.

"OK!" Nate exclaimed before he let go of the branch and dropped down with a *thud!* Ruby shook her head as Nate lay on the ground unharmed and giggling, his aura having easily protected him from the fall. Ruby picked him up as he laughed. "Again!"

"No Nate, we need to get back inside - it will be dark soon, and you've got to get ready for bed," Ruby said firmly, Nate whined a bit at the prospect of bed, but Ruby just smirked. "Or, you can stay up all night and be sleep through uncle Qrow's visit," that got the young child's attention.

"No! I go to bed! I go to bed!" Ruby laughed a bit at Nate's complete attitude change toward bedtime at the mention of their uncle - she couldn't really blame him, she would probably be the same in his shoes.

"Ok then, so let's go in and have you wash up before dinner and…" Ruby trailed off when she noticed the bushes nearby rustling, she carefully put Nate down and eyed the bush. "Nate, get behind me," the child obeyed and grabbed onto her leg as she glared at the bush - whatever was in there was much more powerful than a squirrel or something - perhaps another looper? But still she needed to be prepared in case it was something that would hurt Nate or -

Her thoughts were cut off when on orange and white blur jumped out from the bushes and Nate's eyes lit up.

"Kitty!" Ruby stared blankly as Nate ran over to pet the little, orange and white cat that had emerged from the bushes - the feline purred at his pets before glancing at Ruby and meowing - The cat looked between her and Nate and meowed several times, Ruby noticed a ping each time it meowed.

Nate giggled as he pet the cat some more, the cat seeming a little disappointed by his lack of reaction to the pings.

"OK Nate, back inside. You can play with the kitty another time," Ruby shooed her younger brother into the house, and he reluctantly obeyed her, waving a bit to the cat before he did. Once he was inside she looked over at the cat.

"… Jibanyan?" the cat sighed after she spoke his name and smiled at her.

"So it's you who's awake? I was hoping it would be Nyate," the currently alive cat said with a small smile.

"Yeah, he's not awake right now… were you one of the pings I got a few months ago?" Ruby questioned and Jibanyan nodded.

"I woke up as a stray on the streets… nyot really the most pleasant position to be in… but considering I'm usually already dead whenever I wake up I guess it isn't be that bad. Still, Amy doesn't seem to exist this loop… or if she does we've nyever encountered each other," Jibanyan explained. Ruby nodded back and smiled a bit.

"Well I'm glad to run into somebody else who's awake, even if you're not one of my teammates. You can stay with us if you'd like," Ruby offered kindly. Jibanyan scratched his ear.

"That'd sure beat sleeping in the cold… but don't you have a dog?"

"Don't worry about Zwei, he wouldn't hurt a fly."

"But would he hurt a cat?" Jibanyan couldn't help but question - Ruby just laughed.

.

"Fetch Zwei!" A seven year old Nate tossed a stick for the corgi to fetch, which he did quickly and brought it back to the young boy while panting happily. "Good doggy!" the now nineteen year old Ruby watched her little brother playing from the porch, with Jibanyan sleeping nearby.

"So, you still haven't figured out who else is awake?" Jibanyan asked Ruby, making sure that Nate didn't hear him speak. Ruby sighed and crossed her arms.

"No, and Nate's still too young for us to go looking, and I've been unable to gather any information while shopping," she watched as Nate tossed the stick again for their dog to retrieve and couldn't help but chuckle a bit, before a serious look settled on her face. "From what I can tell, the oni may be more dangerous than the average grimm - but they don't quite go up to the level of the more powerful ones, still since they have access to aura it's a lot more difficult to put them down permanently."

"Can we please nyot talk about that?" the cat sighed as he rolled onto his back.

"What do you want to talk about then?" Ruby questioned with a raised brow.

"…How about when you're going to go out and get me some chocolate bars?" Jibanyan asked with a smirk on his face.

"I already told you a thousand times - you're a _living_ cat right now. You can't have chocolate," Ruby shook her head as she spoke. Jibanyan groaned.

"Man... Two whole years without chocolate! And who knows how much longer to go. Why can't this loop just end?" Jibanyan muttered mostly to himself, Ruby rolled her eyes at his complaining.

"Look, for right now at least, this loop has been pretty peaceful. I suggest you just sit back and enjoy it, not eating chocolate isn't the end of the world - and I got you plenty of fish, so just relax," Ruby said in a calming tone. Jibanyan sighed again and nodded.

"Yeah… maybe you're right."

"Fetch Zwei!" Nate's shout barely came as a warning before Jibanyan found a stick hitting him in the end, and a corgi rushing towards him. "Sorry kitty!" Jibanyan meowed in protest when Zwei decided to jump on him and start licking him. Ruby chuckled at the sight and shook her head.

.

"So, you're going to Beacon?" a twenty seven year old Ruby questioned her fifteen year old younger brother as he stood by packing.

"Yeah… I'm honestly surprised that Ozpin's letting me in early," He held up Crescent Rose-2 as he called his copy of her well - known weapon. Honestly she was surprised to find that she possessed the same weapon as she normally did in this loop, and also a bit surprised that when it came time for Nate to make his weapon that he went and made a copy of Crescent Rose - still, they both also had the speed semblance, and even in a family it was odd for two people to have the same semblance. Not counting Weiss' family.

"Well, I know you'll be one of the best hunters there," Ruby patted his shoulder affectionately. "I'm very proud of you bro, show those oni no mercy," Nate nodded back to her with a small smile.

"Don't worry sis - I will, for mom and dad!"

"Good - though don't forget to make friends," Ruby chuckled and Nate nodded back, though he looked a little nervous.

"I'll try, but…" Nate trailed off as he looked down, Ruby patted his shoulder again and he looked up at her.

"Don't worry, they'll love you - I'm sure," they stayed like that for a second before he smiled brightly at her and nodded. "Now don't forget to say goodbye to Zwei and Jibanyan before you leave."

"Don't worry, I won't!"

.

"… So what's the plan?" Jibanyan asked Ruby after Nate had left on his flight to Beacon.

"I need to figure out whom else is awake - if Cinder isn't one of them I'm going to halt her plans before Nate and his team gets involved," Ruby held her Crescent Rose readily as the small cat looked up at her.

"You seem pretty serious," he noted and she nodded to him.

"I don't know exactly how much this will differ from my baseline from this point going forward, but I'm not going to let Nate go through anything like the end of our last expansion, whether he's awake or not!" Jibanyan watched her as she walked towards the door.

"And what about meow?" He questioned blankly, she turned back to the cat and smiled.

"You're in charge of Zwei."

"Seriously?" Jibanyan looked rather underwhelmed by his given task.

"I'm sure you can handle! I'll stop by every now and then to drop off food and such. Be good!" and with that Ruby sped off. Jibanyan stared at the door for a moment - and then froze when he heard panting behind him. He turned to see a little corgi panting and looking at him.

"Um… nice doggy?" Jibanyan said nervously. Zwei tilted his head… before he pounced on Jibanyan and started licking him. "Well this is going to be a barrel of fun," Jibanyan muttered sarcastically as the dog continued to lick him.

.

"Big sis!" Nate cheered as Ruby showed up at the Beacon gates with a smile on her face. It was the time for the Vytal festival - and the perfect excuse for her to come to Beacon and finally find if any of her teammates were awake…if any of them were in the age group they normally were - and if Yang even existed… It was also good to make sure her little brother was ok.

"Hey Nate. How's Beacon been," Ruby questioned as she approached the younger Rose, whom was positively beaming.

"Great! You'll never guess but I'm the leader of our team!"

"Really, the leader?" Ruby feigned surprise at this revelation, though she was proud nevertheless.

"Yeah! And our team has your name! We're team RWBY!" he nodded his head happily and she nodded back.

"My name huh?" Ruby smiled while she thought about the implications. ' _Ok, R for Rose, Nate and mine's last name. So it's probably still Weiss, Blake and Yang - that's good, even if they're not awake that means I know Nate is in good hands._ '

"Yeah, oh and I can't wait for you to meet my team!"

.

Ruby's meeting with this loops variation on team RWBY wasn't too surprising, despite the strangeness that Yang wasn't related to her or Nate - yet still seemed exactly the same, nothing else seemed unusual… though Weiss was sending her weird glances, she would have to speak to her alone to confirm her suspicions.

"Well I'll be around, though Nate, am I able to trust you with all these girls sleeping in the same room as you?" Ruby couldn't help but tease - Yang laughed at the accusation, Blake didn't seem to care, and Weiss was still more focused on Ruby. Nate looked embarrassed.

"I like her!" the unawake Yang laughed as she pat Nate on the back. He sighed and looked at his older sister.

"Come on sis, don't say things like that. We're all just friends," Nate insisted and Ruby chuckled while petting his head.

"Yeah I know, I just got to look out for my baby bro."

"I'm not a baby…" Nate mumbled while looking away, but Ruby just smiled and pat him on the head.

"I'll see you around Nate. I love you."

"…I love you too," Nate hugged his sister before she exited the room. As soon as she was in the hall she pulled out her scroll to send a message.

.

"Thanks for meeting me here," Ruby smiled at the younger, white haired girl sitting across from her in the coffee shop. Weiss sipped from a coffee cup before she sat it in front of her and gave her usually 15 year old friend a strange look.

"It was weird awakening so early," Weiss muttered.

"So you were one of the pings I got back ten years ago," Ruby smiled and Weiss nodded. "So you woke up as a seven year old?"

"Yeah… so what's with your age?" Weiss questioned while looking at Ruby in a scrutinizing fashion.

"Don't know. Just the way this loop was going, so how's fighting onis and working beside my little brother been?"

"He's not very different from you - if a little less hyper," Weiss sighed.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Ruby chuckled as she took a bite out of one of the cookies that she had on a plate in front of her.

"Does it matter?" Weiss questioned dully. "Anyway, the oni are harder to fight then a group of beowolves or ursas for sure. Though haven't seen much tougher than a deathstalker sized red one. None of them can fly at least from what we've seen, and even though they have aura we can beat most of the smaller ones."

"Good, I mean it couldn't have been that bad if you're the only awake member of the team, though do you know the identity of anyone else that's awake? Last I checked there were still only two other pings then mine and Jibanyan's."

"No, I haven't found any - wait, Jibanyan?" Weiss questioned blankly at the name. Ruby laughed a bit.

"Oh yeah, you haven't really met him yet… well he's normally a yo-kai, but right now he's a regular cat, though not being able to eat chocolate is driving him crazy."

"… He does realize he can just change back into his… 'yo-kai' form if he wants to eat chocolate. Doesn't he?" Weiss questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't think he does."

"… So when were you planning on telling him?" Weiss' question went ignored as Ruby moved on to a new topic.

"So anyway, I'm pretty sure Cinders not awake, so it shouldn't be too hard for me to halt her plans - interested in helping?" Ruby asked with a smirk on her face.

"Of course. What's the plan?"

.

Nate awoke as he stared at the large screen in the Vytal tournament's arena, and the image that was on it…

"Let me go! This is an outrage! Whoever you are! Wherever you are! I'll destroy - " Cinder's mad ranting was cut off as she was hit in the face with a pie. The machine that launched it prepared to launch another one while Mercury and Emerald, whom were just as tied up as Cinder also got pied. The crowd just stared at what was being projected on the screen - a few laughing, but most just looking dumbfounded.

"Hey, Nate," Weiss snapped her fingers in front of her partners eyes and he looked at her strangely. "You finally awake?" Nate stared at her for a second.

"… Yeah, but I'm feeling a little loopy…" Nate glanced from Weiss, whom he just realized was awake, and the screen showing the… comically captured villains. "… Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Eh, it was mostly your sister," Weiss shrugged.

"Ruby? She's awake," Nate looked a little excited even before Weiss nodded in confirmation. He quickly left the stadium, while Weiss went back to watching Cinder and her minion's public humiliation with a smirk on her face.

.

"Ruby!" Nate called as he caught up to his sister whom was hanging out nearby the stadium.

"Nate, how are you?" Ruby gave him a gentle smile as he approached and he smiled back at her.

"I'm wide and awake!"

"Good, took you long enough," Ruby laughed a bit and Nate chuckled slightly embarrassed. He calmed after a moment before hugging her.

"Thanks for taking care of me for so long sis."

"No problem bro, that's what family is for," Ruby returned the hug. They separated after a moment and Nate gave Ruby an odd look.

"So… what's with that pie shooting thing on the big screen?" Nate questioned and Ruby just laughed again.

"Oh that. What can I say, a classic is a classic," Nate looked clueless at that explanation but shrugged, before he remembered something.

"Oh right! I wanted to show you," He pulled his modified version of Crescent Rose out of his sub-space pocket and show it to her proudly. "It's called Spectral Fang! It runs on Yo-kai medals and their energy, and it changes abilities based on the medal used, what do you think?"

Ruby looked the modified weapon over for a second, before smiling proudly at Nate.

"Wow, that's some good modifications you've done Nate. Even if the basic idea is still the same, you've really made this version of Crescent Rose your own," Ruby said with a big smile on her face. Nate beamed at his sister's compliments, though he was surprised when Ruby reached into her sub-space pocket and pulled out another Crescent Rose and handed it to him. "Still, it's always good to keep a copy of the original."

Nate took the copy of Crescent Rose and nodded, before putting both it and Spectral Fang into his sub-space pocket. Next he took Crescent Rose-2 from his back and handed it to Ruby.

"Crescent Rose-2 doesn't really have anything different about it from the original…but still, consider it a memento-even if I haven't been awake for most of this loop, I really enjoyed these memories," Nate explained before Ruby took the replica and nodded.

"Well, loops not over yet. There's still some time we can spend together, though it's disappointing that Yang's not awake… and it would be cool if Griff were here too," Ruby said as she tussled Nate's hair a bit.

"Yeah. Well, we'll just have to tell them all about it next time… maybe Yang will wake up before the loop ends!"

"Yeah - well either way, I'll get to spend some quality time with my baby brother," Ruby smirked as she messed with Nate's hair some more. Nate pulled back and frowned.

"Baby? Ruby, I'm like… several hundreds of years old at this point."

"Yeah, well I'm more then several billions of years old," Ruby laughed at the dumbfounded look on Nate's face before she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Come on, we'll have some fun."

"Ok, just don't call me your 'baby brother' again," Nate grumbled and Ruby smirked.

"No promises," before they left Ruby looked at the sky for a moment. "But still… I never did find out who that fourth looper was..."

.

"Dog… ugh," Jibanyan sighed as Zwei ran around him. "When is Ruby coming back again? We're running out of food!" Jibanyan looked at the cabinets and fridge…admittedly he had eaten more then he probably should of… but Ruby should still have brought more food!

Zwei barked before he seemed to… pull a scroll out from nowhere? He did some typing as Jibanyan watched, and barked happily after he had sent it. Jibanyan just stared.

"… Did you just order a pizza?"

*Bark!*

 **2.16 GammaTron(part 2: continuation of 1.15)**

Amano Residence - 12:02PM

'What the heck?' Phoenix pondered as he looked at the comfortable two-storied home, 'This isn't a mansion or anything like I was expecting considering that Keita has a butler of all things, not... well...'

"RAAAAAAA! GET GOING WITH FINDING ANYTHING YOU CAN, DAMMIT!"

'Yikes! What was that?!' Phoenix thought, sweating heavily, before blinking twice at a strange sight in front of the house, "Detective Gumshoe?"

"RAAAAAAAA!-!-!" Gumshoe roared as he turned to see Phoenix, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

'Earplugs, for one thing,' Phoenix sweated a bit, "I-I'm Keita Amano's lawyer for this case and..."

"FINE! I KNOW YOU GOT THE BEST WAYS TO FIND STUFF TO HELP SAVE INNOCENTS! NOW GO IN THERE AND GO FIND THAT STUFF TO HELP THE KID, DAMMIT! RAAAAAAAAA!" Gumshoe roared while Phoenix swore that he was seeing flames in Gumshoe's eyes.

'Some one's spiked his coffee...' Phoenix noted as he entered the building, 'Everything looks normal so far.' he then entered the living room and cringed, seeing the blood splatters, the two body outlines, and evidence marks, 'Yep. Completely normal.'

He proceeded to go to work on looking around. He started at the body outlines.

'Poor kid...' Phoenix thought, looking at the outlines, 'In just one night, he loses so much... his parents... his normal life... everything he used to know will change because of this.' he moved on and looked at one of the stains, 'This must have been such a lovely painting before the blood... It even got on the plant below it, too.' he looked down at the plant before spotting something barely sticking out of under the table the plant was at, 'What's this?'

Phoenix knelt down while taking out a handkerchief. Putting it over his hand, he picked up the object and stood up. Looking it over, it was a medal of some sorts. The back had an engraving resembling two hearts trying to make one big one while the front depicting an image of a red cat-like creature with two tails ending in blue fireballs and a sash around its waist, giving a cute pose.

'Some sort of medal...' Phoenix thought.

Unusual Medal added to Court Record

Phoenix went upstairs, 'Maybe there might be something I can check in the bedrooms.' he looked into the first bedroom on the second floor, 'Must be the bedroom for the parents. Looks like they were killed before bedtime.' he then went to the only other room on the second floor, 'This must be Keita's room, then.' he opened the door and his eyes widened, 'Wh-What?' looking at the floor, he saw the outline of a small body on the floor with various evidence markers scattered about the messy room, 'A... Another murder? Did... Did he have a sister, too?'

"A terrible sight," Phoenix turned to see Whis Bei looked at the outline, "And just when we got the last medal to be able to summon her."

"What are you talking about?" Phoenix asked, 'How did he get here?'

"Did my master give you that watch?" Whis Bei asked.

"Huh?" Phoenix looked at the watch, "Yeah. He did."

"Seems that he trusts you," Whis Bei nodded, "Very well then."

"Huh?" Phoenix pondered before moving back from the explosion of smoke that covered Whis Bei before fading away, revealing a small white ghost-like creature with a black mark between his eyes to connect them, purple lips, and a spiral on its head.

"Hi~! I am Whisper!" Whisper bowed before saluting, "At your ser-whis!"

"Wh-What are you?!" Phoenix gawked.

"I am a Yokai," Whisper informed as he floated over the body outline on the floor, "And this was, sadly, the Legendary Yokai Netaballerina. She was a Legendary Yokai that would give all kinds of spoilers."

"Yokai? You mean like the legend of the Tengu and the Nine-Tailed Fox?" Phoenix asked.

"Hm? Oh, Tengu and Kyuubi did fight there, but that was a hundred years before anyone showed up there, whis," Whisper replied before zooming into Phoenix's face, "Wright-san! While I told you of the Patricide, Keita-kun is also being tried for killing a Legendary Yokai."

'... Okay... This might not be as easy as I thought it would have been...' Phoenix thought, '... This is like all my other cases, dammit.' "Wait. Why show yourself to me now?"

"Because Keita-kun gave you the Yokai Watch," Whisper informed.

"Yokai Watch?" Phoenix looked at the watch.

"Yes. That watch allows you to see the World of Yokai," Whisper explained, "Though, it is strange that you can see me normally. I mean, Keita-kun can see me because of the excess spiritual energy that entered his body when he released me from the Crank-A-Kai." he looked Phoenix over, "Hm? What's that glow in your pocket?"

"My pocket?" Phoenix repeated before pulling out his Magatama, which was glowing with the Yokai Watch, "Oh!"

"Where did you get something like that? I can practically feel the spiritual energy coming off of it in waves," Whisper observed.

"From the Fey Family."

"F-Fey?!" Whisper freaked, "They were the ones who sealed me away 150 years ago because they thought all Yokai were evil! That cruel woman Ami Fey!"

'Okay. Don't let him meet Maya or Pearls,' Phoenix thought.

Yokai Watch updated in Court Record

Magatama updated in Court Record

"Can you tell me about what happened here?"

"Well, last night, Keita-kun just made friends with the last Yokai he needed to summon a Legendary Yokai," Whisper informed, "We were in the middle of summoning her when the song distorted and a pulse sent me into the closet, knocking me out. Unfortunately, by the time I awoke, Keita was arrested for Patricide and Yokai were closing off the bedroom with... with Netaballerina on the floor, a knife with a sutra on it in her back."

"A sutra?" Phoenix repeated.

"Yokai can't be killed like you humans can. We require something more, such as sutras on the murder weapons," Whisper explained.

"So Keita has to deal with two trials?" Phoenix asked in disbelief.

"No," Whisper replied, "The judge for his human trial is also a Yokai in disguise. Therefore, no humans will be allowed to attend and, since you know of us now, you as his lawyer will be able to still be one to him for this trial."

"What are you talking about?! Wait, you mean Yokai can do what you just did?!" Phoenix asked.

"Yes. We can disguise ourselves as humans," Whisper informed.

'As if things made less sense earlier...' Phoenix sweatdropped.

"Shall we examine the scene now?" Whisper asked.

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah," Phoenix nodded as he looked around, starting with the body, "Do you have any files about her murder?"

"No. The detective in charge of this investigation does, though," Whisper replied.

"You mean Gumshoe?"

"Of course," Whisper replied, "All people in the detective force are made aware of Yokai and are partnered with one that can help them in Yokai-related cases."

'I'm guessing that's why Gumshoe's acting like that,' Phoenix thought before looking at an open book near the body, "And this?"

"The Yokai Dai-Jinten," Whisper informed, "All of Keita-kun's Yokai Medals are stored in here and we use the back pages to summon Legendary Yokai to befriend them."

Yokai Dai-Jinten added to Court Record

"I see... Wait. Medals?" Phoenix repeated before holding up the strange medal, "Like this?"

"Oh! That's Jibanyan's Yokai Medal! That infuriating cat!" Whisper huffed, "Though..." he sighed sadly, "He's not going to like the news when he learns about this."

Yokai Medal updated in Court Record.

"Jibanyan?" Phoenix repeated.

"One of Keita-kun's first Yokai friends," Whisper explained, "He often hangs around the crosswalk where he died, fighting trucks."

'Fighting trucks?' Phoenix sweatdropped, "Wait, what?"

"He was killed when a truck hit him. His previous owner called him an idiot from what he can remember and, since he became a Yokai, he's attacked all trucks who come to his intersection," Whisper explained, "He's the reason for all those sudden stop incidents there."

'Good thing the court is only a few blocks from my office this Loop,' Phoenix sweatdropped before looking around, "Whisper, what's this stuff all over the floor?"

"Hmm... It kind of looks like ashes from something small burning up," Whisper noted, "And from the looks of it, there were a lot of little things that burned away."

"I see..." Phoenix frowned.

Ashes added to Court Record

"So you ended up being knocked into the closet?" Phoenix questioned as he walked to it.

"Indeed. Whatever came out with her, it let out a shockwave that sent me in here," Whisper replied, "Hikkikomouri can attest to that."

"Who?" Phoenix pondered as he opened the closet, revealing a small bat-like creature with wings made of a blue star-patterned fabric on a laptop, "What the…?"

"Meep!" the bat squeaked.

"Settle down now, Hikkikomouri," Whisper advised as he floated over, "This is Phoenix Wright. He's defending Keita-kun tomorrow."

"H-He is?" Hikkikomouri asked.

"Yes, I am," Phoenix replied, showing his badge.

"Oh, thank goodness," Hikkikomouri sighed in relief, "The chat rooms are all abuzz about this trial since this is the first time a Legendary Yokai was killed in centuries!"

"Did you see what happened?"

"No," Hikkikomouri replied, "The closet has a full lockdown mode that triggers whenever an S-Rank Yokai appears."

"Lockdown mode?" Phoenix repeated, 'What kind of closet has that kind of thing?'

"It's this," Hikkikomouri replied as she pushed a button on the wall beside her and the doors slammed shut and a steel wall covered it.

"WHOA!" Phoenix yelped before the wall went back into hiding and Hikkikomouri poked her head out again, "Im... Impressive."

"I had some sutra put on it to make sure no Yokai can get through... or get out."

"She takes staying in the closet quite seriously," Whisper added.

"I... I see…" Phoenix sweated a bit, 'There's being protective... then there's being overprotective…' "Wait. Why did you make it to trigger with just that rank of Yokai?"

"Because the majority of the times that a Yokai has messed up the closet has been S-Rank," Hikkikomouri replied bluntly, "And the last one messed with my laptop."

"Don't touch her laptop…" Whisper shivered, a haunted look forming in his eyes.

'... I kinda wanna know what happened now,' Phoenix thought.

Keita's Closet added to Court Record

"MERA!"

Phoenix yelped as he turned and looked down, seeing a small, child-sized orange lion standing on its hind legs and in a black gi... with a mane made of fire.

"That's the inspector for the Yokai half of this investigation; Meramelion," Whisper informed, "When he inspirits someone, they become overly enthusiastic about doing something, often giving it their all."

'I guess this is the reason why Gumshoe was roaring everything…'

"MERA! MERA-ME-MERA-RA?!"

"Uh... what now?"

"He's demanding why you're here," Whisper informed before turning to the Yokai, "He's Keita-kun's attorney for the trials."

"MERA?!"

"Yes," Whisper nodded.

"MERA MERA-ME!" Meramelion snapped as he pointed at Phoenix... specifically, his hair.

'That was some sort of jab at my hair, wasn't it?' Phoenix sweatdropped, 'Well, at least it wasn't about my skills as an attorney.' "I'm Phoenix Wright. Do you think you can answer some questions for me?"

"MERA!" Meramelion roared with a pose and large amount of quick nods.

'I'll... take that as a 'yes,'' Phoenix sweated a bit, "Well... What happened here?"

"He says that they just got the autopsy report for Netabellerina," Whisper explained as the lion Yokai slammed the report into Phoenix's chest.

"OW!" Phoenix yelped as he caught it, 'That was as bad as getting hit with Franziska's whip!'

Netaballerina Autopsy Report added to Court Record

Phoenix looked it over, "So she died of spiritual essence loss through a knife wound to her back. Wait... spirits can die?"

"As I said earlier, we can die if we're fatally injured with something with a sutra added to it," Whisper frowned.

"Oh... right," Phoenix nodded before frowning, "So what's the difference between a normal Yokai and a Legend Yokai?"

"Legend Yokai are the strongest Yokai of their zoku," Whisper informed, peeking at a tablet in his hands every few seconds, "They are all S-Rank Yokai and can inspirit thousands at a single time without even breaking a sweat. But there can only be one of every Legend Yokai, meaning that now that Netaballerina is gone, another one will come into being and take her place."

"You've mentioned 'Rank' before. What do you mean by that?"

"All Yokai have a Rank. It represents how powerful they are in terms of both physical abilities and inspiriting abilities," Whisper informed, "The lowest are the E Rank while the strongest are the S-Rank."

'Okay, that makes sense. ... wait,' Phoenix's eyes widened, "There are more than just one of you guys?"

"There are a few subtle differences that we can tell everyone apart," Whisper shrugged.

"Do you have the autopsy on Keita's parents?" Phoenix asked Meramelion.

"Mera," Meramelion nodded sadly as he handed them to Phoenix.

Parents Autopsy Report added to Court Record

'The father was stabbed through the neck from behind while the mother was first stabbed in the stomach and then had her neck cut open,' Phoenix thought, 'They died within a few minutes of each other.' He looked at Netaballerina's report, 'And both of them died ten minutes after she died. I'll need to look over the living room again...'

Living Room - Amano Residence - 12:28PM

"There you are!" Phoenix flinched at the shout as Gumshoe ran up and picked up Meramelion, "Where'd you go, partner?"

"MERA!"

"Oh, you ran into Wright here upstairs," Gumshoe nodded, "Hey, pal."

"Hey, detective Gumshoe," Phoenix greeted, "Glad to see you're not shouting about everything now."

"Yeah. When we learned just who was arrested and for what, he ended up Inspiriting me," Gumshoe sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as Meramelion coped him.

"Wait. You two know Keita?"

"Not me personally, but Meramelion here does," Gumshoe explained, "He met him on his day off and they ended up becoming friends."

"MERA!" Meramelion nodded rapidly before sighing.

"He's really bummed about what happened to the kid," Gumshoe added.

"So how long have you known about Yokai?" Phoenix asked.

"Ever since my first day on the force when I got my Yokai Badge that lets me see them," Gumshoe informed, showing his badge with a clear marble in the center.

'?!' Phoenix's eyes widened, 'That badge... it has a magatama emblem on it!' He felt the Magatama in his pocket, 'So... does this mean there's a connection between being able to see Yokai and the Magatama?'

"The Magatama is a symbol for many Yokai," Whisper informed, "Before the Yokai Watch, people would put on Magatama charged by spiritualists to let them see Yokai."

'So that's why I can see Yokai without looking through this…' Phoenix thought as he looked at the Yokai Watch.

"MERA?! ME-MERA-RA-ME-MERA?!"

"Wait, that's the kid's Yokai Watch?!" Gumshoe gawked, "Pal, why do you have that?!"

"Keita gave it to me to help with investigating," Phoenix informed quickly, "He... He's really hurt by what happened."

Gumshoe and Meramelion slumped at that, "Yeah/Mera…"

"So what's it like working on these cases, Gumshoe?"

"It's been interesting," Gumshoe noted, "Everyone involved with Yokai have to spend an hour a day studying different Yokai in our Yokai Guides, but Mera and I tend to just hang out and do stuff during that hour!"

'Yet again, you surprise me, Gumshoe... and at the same time, don't surprise me at all,' Phoenix sweatdropped, "Mind if I look at the murder scene?"

"Go ahead," Gumshoe nodded.

"Thanks," Phoenix replied as he started looking around, starting with the first body outline, 'This must be where his dad was killed. There's blood at the top here and it just goes down along the outline tape.'

"Oh, that poor man…" Whisper sighed.

"Was he a good father?"

"Indeed he was. He worked hard and always made sure that he had time for his wife and Keita-kun," Whisper shook his head, "He had just finished a big project the other day and was given the week off. They were going to go to see a waterfall tomorrow, whis."

Phoenix nodded as he moved back to the other body outline, "It... It looks like she was in disbelief and shock at what happened."

"Most likely, whis," Whisper nodded, "She was a fair mother, but when you got her angry, you'd easily mistake her as one of the Oni in Oni Time."

"Oni Time?"

"When kids misbehave, their visited in their dreams by the Oni, chasing them throughout it until they either escape or get caught and beaten up."

'Note to self: make sure Trucy behaves this Loop,' Phoenix sweated a bit.

"How can you tell she was surprised and in disbelief?" Gumshoe asked.

"It's the way her body outline is," Phoenix informed, "Do you have a picture of the bodies?"

"Yeah," Gumshoe nodded, handing Phoenix a picture of the crimescene.

"See how her body's shaped?" Phoenix pointed, "It's clear that she had been standing as if she were in shock at something."

"I think I found something, whis," Whisper noted nearby as he picked up something with tweezers, "It's a hair."

"A hair?!" Gumshoe looked at it with Meramelion, "Where'd ya find this, bub?"

"At the foot, whis," Whisper pointed at the wife's outline.

"Mera!" The lion Yokai put the hair into an evidence bag.

"Good idea. It might be a lead," Gumshoe nodded, "Though... there's going to be an issue."

"What's wrong?"

"If it's the hair of a Yokai, it'll take twenty four hours total before we can figure out what Yokai it is," Gumshoe informed.

"Twenty four hours?!" Phoenix gawked, 'This is the tick locks all over again…' "Can you get this to testing as soon as you can, you two?"

"WE CAN!" Gumshoe roared as he ran out, Meramelion on his shoulder with the hair for testing.

'And he's been Inspirited again…' Phoenix facepalmed.

"I think this is all we can do at the moment," Whisper noted.

"Hold on. Was there anyone else in here last night?" Phoenix asked.

"No. Jibanyan had been invited to a cat Yokai mixer yesterday. They don't watch anything but NyaKB48 at those things, all recorded, so they're probably still doing that," Whisper shrugged.

Phoenix nodded, 'This is going to be tricky then... Hopefully, they can get that testing done so we can know if there was another Yokai or human there or not.'

To be continued.

 **2.17 GammaTron**

Keita Awoke as he was heading downstairs. He frowned as his Loop Memories told him that his favorite detective series, Professor Renkon, was never made.

"Keita! Come on!"

"Coming, Kaa-chan!" Keita replied as he entered the living room and halted.

Sitting in one of the chairs was a strange man with a top hat, a brown coat over a dark orange shirt, brown pants, and a pair of dark green shoes.

"Keita, this is my cousin, Laytona Hershel," Keita's father introduced, "Layton, this is my son Amano Keita."

"A pleasure to meet you," the man greeted politely, tipping his hat.

"Do you remember what we were talking about last week?" his mother asked.

Keita frowned as he thought about it, "Ano... Oh. Yeah. You said Tou-san was asking someone about a summer thing."

"Close enough," his mother shook her head.

"Keita, my cousin is here to take you around London for the summer."

"R-Really?!" Keita gasped.

"Indeed," Layton replied.

"So tell me, Keita. Have you been Looping for long now?"

"H-Huh?" Keita looked up at the man as they exited the London airport, "Y... You're Looping, too?"

"Indeed. I am Professor Hershel Layton," the gentleman introduced, tipping his hat, "I am the Anchor of my Loop."

"Likewise. I'm Keita Amano. But I'm also Nate Adams."

"Ah yes. Your game's English release changed your name, much like my friend Phoenix," Layton noted, "Level-5 'created' your series as did they my own."

"Whoa..." Keita awed, "That's pretty cool."

"Yes. It is rather 'cool,'" Layton nodded before frowning, "And I have seen the very few episodes that involve seeing Professor Renkon. It is rather... unsettling in how gentlemen are seen as."

"H-Huh?"

"Would you like to better understand what a true English gentleman thinks, Keita?"

"... Sure!" Keita beamed, 'Though I don't think that you can compare to Professor Renkon.'

"It's the driver!" Fumi declared a Loop later, watching Professor Renkon with Kuma, Kanchi, and Keita.

"Yeah! It'l be like Professor Renkon guessed!" Kuma agreed.

"He's so cool!" Kanchi beamed.

"Heh," the three looked at Keita, who was wearing a top hat, "It's not the driver at all, you guys."

"What do you mean?" Kuma asked as the show went to commercial.

"Think. The tires were all slashed, but the driver was nowhere close to the vehicle at any time," Keita informed, "Plus, there were the gasoline cans. Originally, they were on the bottom which was easier for the driver, who isn't even a third of the shelves' height, to grab to refill the car. But each time after that..."

"They were on the top shelf!" Kanchi realized.

"Indeed. And the only one tall enough to reach them was the electrician," Keita informed, "So he is the guilty party."

"I don't know..." Kuma frowned.

"We'll find out now," Keita smirked as the show continued.

Minutes later, Kuma, Fumi, and Kanchi were in awe as the electrician admitted his guilt while the driver was shouting at Renkon for the wrongful accusation.

"You were right!" Fumi beamed.

"How'd you figure all that out?" Kachi asked.

Keita smiled a little, playing with his top hat, "It was kinda like a puzzle. A while back, a guy really got me into puzzles and even see the puzzles in normal life just waiting to be solved." 'And gave me a copy of each of his and Phoenix Wright's games to play and figure out. But still... Professor Renkon doesn't stand a chance against Professor Layton.'

 **2.18**

"Class, I'd like you all to meet a new student," The teacher stated, catching Nate's attention.

"New student?" he, along with the other students looked towards the door… and nobody came through.

"… Um, Hida. You may come in now," The teacher tried to sound reassuring, Nate processed the name for a moment.

' _Wait, Hida? Could it be?_ ' he mentally questioned before a shy looking girl stepped through the door. Despite her being human Nate recognized the color of her short hair as matching Hidabat's fur color, her eyes were also the same color and the pattern on her blue jacket was very recognizable as well.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Hida Komori," the teacher introduced as Hida shrank away from the class a bit.

"Hello Hida," Most of the class chorused.

"So, Hida. Would you like to say anything about yourself before taking a seat?" The teacher questioned with a friendly smile. The young girl fidgeted nervously.

"Um… H-hello, my name is… Hida…I um… Like surfing the web and um staying in my house," Hida started mumbling after a moment and the teacher, and Nate, looked at her sympathetically.

"It's ok Hida, go on and take a seat," he offered. Hida scanned the class for a second before her eyes focused on Nate–a ping sent just then pretty much confirmed that each other was Awake.

"Um… can I sit by him?" Hida questioned, pointing towards Nate a little nervously.

"Huh? But there's no seats open next to Nathen. I'm sorry, but you'll need to take a different seat."

"… Ok," Hida nodded before she began her search for a seat. She passed Nate who nodded at her with an assuring smile.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," he stated. Hida gave a small smile back and nodded before she continued to look for a seat. His two nearby seated friends looked at him oddly.

"Huh? Nate, do you know her?" Bear questioned. Nate looked at him and Ed for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, you could say we go way back."

"Well, how come we've never met her?" Ed asked with a raised brow. Nate chuckled a little as he watched Hida–or Hidabat take a seat in the back of the class.

"Well, she likes to keep to herself."

.

During lunch Nate chose to sit with Hida in a rather secluded corner of the cafeteria, his friends found this slightly odd but he waved it off telling them Hida was shy and he wanted to make sure she was comfortable.

"So, how's the Loop going for you so far?" Nate questioned after a moment of sitting in silence. Hida mumbled something before looking at him.

"It's… odd. I've never been human before, and having parents and now going to school… it's all a little overwhelming."

"More overwhelming then finding out your entire universe is just a small piece on a branch of a tree–super computer that is broken causing time to continuously repeat?" Whisper questioned as he floated over.

"Well… when you phrase it like that, I suppose it does make getting worked up over this seem kind of silly," Hida mumbled, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Well I didn't mean it like that," Whisper sighed as Nate pat his currently human friend on the shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with being nervous about new situations, I've been Looping the longest out of us and I still get surprised by the Loops."

"And don't forget, you may be the oldest of us, but compared to your 'siblings' you're practically a newborn," Whisper chuckled while Nate gave him a slightly annoyed look. Hida looked a little amused by their interaction and nodded.

"I suppose we're all still pretty new to this, there are so many possibilities we have yet to encounter," The normally yo-kai girl looked at the rest of the students sitting at the different tables, pretty much all oblivious to the time Loops that only a few in their world were privy to, her being one of them. "We've yet to scratch the surface of what many other Loopers have likely experienced, maybe… That can be something to look forward to?"

"… At least life will never get boring," Nate concluded with a small smile and Whisper nodded back.

 **2.19 GammaTron**

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Grif and Keita held back their laughter.

"Grif, Keita..." Ruby began.

"Don't you dare, you two. Don't you dare...!" Yang growled.

"B-But you girls are... are..." Keita snorted back another laugh.

"You're so tiny this Loop!" Grif guffawed as he collapsed in laughter, Keita soon following.

"I blame Rooster Teeth and Yggdrasil," Cinder's eye twitched.

"St-Stop it!" Ruby blushed at her laughing 'brothers.'

"Oh my god! You sound so adorable!" Grif began to kick the air in his laughter.

"Best. Loop. Ever," Keita gasped out.

"Of all time!" Grif added.

All three chibi girls began to try to beat them up, but their Pockets and Looping powers were inaccessible and each time they tried to hurt them, it'd just come out as squeaks and the two felt like fluffy pillows were hitting them and began to take photos of their 'sisters' for blackmail later.

"At least we're in Keita's home Loop," Cinder mumbled.

 **2.20**

Katie blinked as she looked at the calendar… She rubbed her eyes and blinked again.

"That's strange," she looked the date over again and frowned. "Mom… Why does the calendar have the wrong date!?"

"What are you talking about sweetie? The dates correct," her mother's voice answered and Katie frowned in confusion.

"That can't be right, this is the day I go bug catching with Nate, Bear and Eddie… No wait, Keita, Kuma and Kaanchi… No, what!? How come I don't know my own friend's names!?" Katie suddenly exclaimed clutching her head.

"Katie? Are you alright?" her mother called in concern and the freaked out girl took a moment to calm herself.

"Y-yes, I'm alright, there was… a spider!" she called back, but then she realized something. "Wait… Katie? Isn't my name Fumi? No wait, it's Katie, but I also remember it being Fumi!" Katie looked really freaked out as she sat on her bed. "Arg! What's going on?"

After a few more minutes of thought, Katie/Fumi concluded to just go about her day as if everything was normal, she was weirded out by things seeming the same as in the past but she decided not to mention this to her friends–she did not want them thinking she was crazy!

.

"So, how's everything been so far, Nate?" Whisper questioned his master/friend as he walked towards school, they had decided to make this Loop a baseline run for the most part(though maybe avoiding a few of the more… embarrassing incidents).

"No problems or big, unexpected variations… But..."

"… What?" Whisper questioned Nate's sudden silence.

"I can't help but notice that Katie's seemed a little… different, hesitant even. And more nervous," Nate said in thought. "Do you think she could be...?" Nate trailed off before shaking his head. "Never mind, let's just continue," he sighed before continuing to school. Whisper frowned in concern but followed after him.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.1 GammaTron**

"So you're telling me that this place has a lot of zany stuff that happens almost every single week?" Nate asked, sitting beside Jibanyan, while they were in an office with a walking gumball machine.

"Yeah. Interesting that you two Awoke at the same time just as I hired you both," Benson noted, "Just be careful and make sure to do your work."

"Anything else you wannya tell us?" Jibanyan asked, scratching his bottom.

"Well, I have been working on a survival guide for the Park," Benson noted as he put a binder on the table that was a foot thick, "This is one of the copies I made. Try it out and tell me if it works or not, okay?"

"Sure thing, Benson," Nate replied as he picked up the book...or, rather, tried to, "Wow. This thing is heavy!"

"Really, nyan?" Jibanyan pondered as he picked it up, "It kinda is."

Benson nodded, "Let me show you to your room and you start work in three days. That will give you enough time to read it."

The two nodded.

"So we can't tie 100 times in a row in Rock, Paper, Scissors or we end up making a black hole," Nate noted as the two laid in bed, looking over the guide.

"Nyeeds more pictures," Jibanyan muttered, munching on a chocobo.

"Yeah. I kinda agree," Nate nodded, "'If five geese show up in the park, kill. them. immediately.' ...What's that about?" he turned the page, "...Oh. That's why."

"Same with guys who wannya make toys about us and the geese," Jibanyan noted, looking at the series of photos on the opposite page, "...All that combining in insane."

"Yeah," Nate nodded, "They practically destroyed the moon and the planet."

Jibanyan turned the page, "...I kinda want that bell."

"What, why?"

"So I can see what Whisper's stress looks like, nyan."

"...No. Just...no."

"Aw come on, Nyate."

"No, Jibanyan."

"But..."

"Whisper plus Joker Gas."

"...I'm still sorry."

"I know, Jibanyan."

"So how have you two be..." Whisper awoke the next Loop to see Keita and Jibanyan hitting a wall with their heads, "...Bad Loops?"

"How can so much insanity happen in one place?" Keita pondered.

"I have nyo idea," Jibanyan replied.

"Is everything okay?" Hikikōmori asked, peeking out of the closet.

"I'm not sure, whis."

"We went through this," Keita informed, pulling out a DVD collection called Regular Show and handed it to them, "Watch it and see how crazy that place is."

"At least the survival guide was a good idea," Jibanyan noted.

"Until one of the creatures ate it and vomited on us," Keita shuddered.

"I stunk fur the rest of the loop, nyan..." Jibanyan muttered before saying, "And you were Party Nyate for..."

"We don't speak of that ever again," Keita warned, armed in his Mjolnir Armor and shotgun aimed at the Yokai.

"..." Whisper and Hikikōmori shared looks before Whisper floated into the closet to watch the DVDs with her.

 **3.2 GammaTron**

Nate yawned as he Awoke. Looking around his bedroom, he saw that it was April 13, 2016 and, judging by the bookshelves of manga, Gundam Build models, and a laptop set on a facebook page that showed full episodes of Kamen Rider beside a stack of games for a 3DS, he was in a Hub Loop. A knock from his bedroom door made him look to it to see an African-American boy with blue eyes, a blue shirt, and jeans poke his head in.

"Hey, Nate. You feeling Awake? Probably a bit Loopy at the moment?" the kid asked.

"Yeah," Nate nodded, "So you're Looping?"

"Yep. We met back in Blood Gulch," the kid introduced.

"...Junior?!" Nate gawked.

"Yeah. Sorry about draining all that blood when I wasn't Awake, too," Junior apologized.

"So why are..." Nate frowned as he let his Hub Loop memories come in, "...oh."

"Yeah," Junior nodded, "Well, I've replaced you a few times in your Loop and I found it pretty cool. Ever been through a Kamen Rider Loop yet?"

"No, not yet," Nate admitted.

"That's good to hear. Because with your dealings, you'd most likely end up as a Ghost Rider," Junior noted.

"Ghost Rider?"

"Not the guy with a flaming skull for a head!" Junior snapped Nate out of his thoughts.

"You two arguing this early?" an older African-America groaned as he poked his head in.

"No," the two replied.

"Nate's Awake, dad," Junior added.

"Sweet," Tucker grinned, "Okay. Breakfast is ready in ten minutes, so get dressed because we're going to an abandoned factory I just bought."

"Huh?"

"Okay, so why are we here?" Nate asked.

"Well, you know that dad and me can't really do anything aside from Hogwarts Magic, Aura, and stuff people can naturally learn through physical training?" Junior asked.

"Yeah. That really sucks, huh?"

"Big time," Tucker nodded, "But, we've gotten used to it and just decided that if we can't learn the stuff everyone else can, why not make stuff to let us do that stuff? So, we started studying the stuff that comes out of Japan, learned the entire language just so we could get a more in-depth examination on everything from the original sources, and eventually, we've managed to start rebuilding certain armors and robots from there."

"We have an entire wing of them in Uncle Doc's museum," Junior grinned.

"So why are you guys telling me this?" Nate asked.

"Well, we saw how you were doing in the good ol' Mjolnir armor..." Nate cringed at his memories of wearing that armor, "Yeah. Some Loopers just don't like the stuff. Which is why we are giving you an early b-day present, made by the both of us to test out."

"Test out?" Nate repeated before Tucker tossed him a wrist-mounted device that looked like a black, orange, and green eyedropper, a buckle resembling a one-eyed ghost's face, and a gold over-sized buckle resembling an eye.

"In order, they're the MegaULoader, the GhostDriver, and Eyecon Driver G," Tucker informed before Junior gave Nate a case, "I recreated all three for you and a spare GhostDriver since there are three Ghost Riders at the moment; Ghost, Specter, and Necrom."

"But why give me all these?"

"You deal with spirits and these Riders fight spirits," Tucker explained.

"What I gave you are the sources of the armors," Junior added as Nate opened the case to reveal a pile of eye-shaped devices in a multitude of colors, "These are Eyecons. They're not the originals and it took me a long time to figure out how to completely duplicate the powers of the originals for them so that you or anyone who has one of the devices can use them."

"Huh..." Nate picked up a few of them, "I know some of these as Yokai; Edison... Benkei... and I think there's one for Nobunaga coming out, too."

"Yeah. Brave Tribe's Nobunyaga from that crossover game," Tucker shrugged.

"So we're going to be training with these today?" Nate asked.

"Yep," Tucker nodded, "Once we're done training for today, we can see if there needs to be some adjustments."

"So I'm fighting you both?" Nate gulped.

"Nope. You're fighting Junior while I record everything," Tucker replied.

"Ready?" Junior asked as he picked up one of the Eyecons and put a GhostDriver around his waist.

"Y-Yeah," Nate nodded as he put the GhostDriver on and picked up the orange Eyecon.

"Henshin!" Junior declared as he activated the Eyecon and put it into the GhostDriver.

=EYE~Batchirimiro! Batchirimiro!= Junior pulled out and pushed in the lever, causing the 'eye' to close and open to reveal a mask in it =KAIGAN: SPECTER!= a blue and black parka came out of the belt as the Transient covered his body, reshaping him into a young adult's measurements =READY GO! KAKUGOU! DOKI DOKI GHOST!= the parka landed on Junior's body and its black, blue-eyed face flipped up, revealing a fearsome blue mask with black 'eyes' and two horns.

"W-Whoa..." Nate gulped before activating the orange Eyecon, "H-Henshin!"

=EYE~= an orange and black parka with orange 'eyes' instead of blue ones came out of his belt =Bachirimiina! Bachirimiina!= it danced around Nate as he copied Junior's actions, letting the mask symbol appear in the Ghostdriver's eye =KAIGAN: ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST!= the parka landed on him as the Transient covered Nate, the face flipping to reveal the orange mask with solid black 'bug eyes' and a lone horn before Nate flipped the hood of the parka off his head =GO! GO! GO! GO!=

"Wh-Whoa!" Ghost awed as his belt glowed and pulled out the Gan Gun Saber from it, "Awesome~! Free weapon, too!"

"Hope you're ready," Specter advised as he took out the Gan Gun Hand from his driver, "Because we're going all out on each other using just the armors!"

"Right!" Ghost nodded before the two charged at each other with a roar.

"I hate Oni Time!" Whisper groaned, sending more boxes of different materials at Kuro Oni, who batted them away each time.

"You can say that again!" Jibanyan groaned before seeing Keita skid to a halt, "Nyan?"

"Keita-kun, are you finally Awake this Loop, whis?" Whisper asked.

"Yeah," Keita nodded as he turned to the Kuro Oni, "And I just got an awesome gift from my friend Junior and his dad/my honorary uncle Tucker." he put his hands a few inches before his waist and a ripple appeared, forming into the Eyecon Driver G, "Not much practice with this, but meh."

=GRATEFUL= Keita went through a small series of movements as the driver began to chant =Gat~chirimi~na! (Kotchinikina!) Gat~chirimi~na! (Kotchinikina!)=

"HENSHIN!" Ketia declared, pushing the Resonate Trigger on the belt.

=Zen Kaigan!= a drum line went off as he was covered in a black and gold Transient with fifteen different Ghost Parka flaying around and connecting to the outfit, their masks appearing on different places of the armor =Kengō, hakken, kyoshō ni ō-sama, samurai, bōzu ni sniper!= a 'crown' appeared on his head while gold 'bug eyes' appeared for the mask =Dai~ Hen~ge~!=

"NYONTO?!" Jibanyan screamed in shock as Kuro Oni skidded to a halt at seeing the little boy he was chasing gain armor.

"Kamen Rider Ghost...Grateful Damashii," Ghost informed before flipping the RevolTrigger and pushing the Resonate Trigger sixteen times, "My soul...will burn brighter than ever before!"

=Zen Dai Kaigan! Let's go! Zen-in shūgō! Mega Omega Formation!=

The fifteen Ghost Parka shot out of the Eyecon Driver G and into the air above Ghost, forming a diamond shape over a gold seal of sorts. Ghost jumped into the air before the symbol as the fifteen parka turned into orbs of light with kanji within that collected into a golden sphere of light over Ghost's foot. He fell down towards Kuro Oni, glowing foot aimed right at him. Kuro Oni roared as he swung his club at him, only for the club to shatter and let Ghost's foot collide with him. Kuro Oni screeched in pain as the power coursed through him. Ghost flipped and landed beside Whisper and Jibanyan as Kuro Oni collapsed, exploding and ending Oni Time.

"...Phew," Ghost sighed in relief as he undid the transformation.

=Kaisān...=

"That is so awesome, nyan!" Jibanyan awed.

"We must do something nice for Tucker and his son for making that for you, whis," Whisper noted.

"Yeah," Keita nodded, "Maybe give them an idea on how to get some oreos from Grif and put laxatives into them as a prank if he annoys them?"

"Excellent idea, Keita-kun!"

 **3.3**

"So… Why exactly are everyone wearing octopi as hats this Loop?" Whisper questioned as he floated beside his human companion, whom was sporting an orange octopus on his head. People wearing various multicolored octopi walked passed them on the streets, going about their days as if it was normal.

"I guess it's just the current style," Nate shrugged, not seeming to mind the cephalopod on his head very much.

"Current style? How exactly could it have become the 'current style' to wear a sea creature on your head!?" Whisper questioned incredulously. Nate absentmindedly twirled one of his octopi's tentacles with his finger.

"Lighten up Whisper, as strange as it seems the octopi don't seem uncomfortable and nobody's getting hurt. I don't see why we can't just enjoy ourselves?" Nate chuckled a bit while Whisper continued to frown.

"Nate, I know you think I'm not that knowledgeable–I've accepted that–but I just have this feeling that something really unpleasant will come of this," Whisper stated seriously. Nate rolled his eyes.

"What could possibly happen?" Nate questioned. Suddenly an alarm blared throughout the town and people along with their octopi looked up in alarm.

" **Attention citizens! Alert! Alert! The Squids are coming! Retreat to your homes immediately!"** a loud voice boomed through speakers that Nate and Whisper hadn't noticed lining the streetlights until now.

"The squids?" Nate questioned blankly as the people around them began to panic and run.

"It's too late! They're here!" One of the random people shouted as the crowd continued panicking and trying to get away. Nate stood his ground as he tried to look past the crowd to see exactly what they were running from.

"Nate, I think it might be best if we got out of here," Whisper said while looking around at the screaming people that ran past them.

"Hold on, I just want to–" Nate was cut off when a blue, goo-like substance hit him in the face. "Ah! I can't see!" Nate panicked for a moment before he wiped the goop from his face and looked to see… short, pointy eared humanoids wearing random stuff like t-shirts, bicycle helmets and earmuffs. With multicolored hair made of tentacles. They shot the colored goo from what looked like water guns as they ran about. Nate watched as some sunk into the ink the made and swam around somehow. "What is going on!?"

.

"Keep away you ink-shooting lunyatics!" Jibanyan shouted, he sported a red octopus on his head as he stood in Nate's bedroom, shooting at the inklings that were out the window with one of their ink-shooting squirt guns. "Man, this isn't good!" Jibanyan groaned as he ducked when some shots flew in the window and splattered on Nate's closet door. The door slid open and Hidabat–a grey octopus perched on her head–peaked out nervously.

"They're only attacking us because of the octopi, right? Shouldn't we just take them off?" The bat-like yo-kai asked timidly before Jibanyan went back to shooting out the window.

"Don't you think I've already tried that!?" the feline yo-kai exclaimed as he shot a few of the squid people below before quickly taking cover again. "These things are stuck on our heads like melted chocolate to my paws!"

"But you just lick your paws–"

"That's nyot the point! The point is they won't come off! And these guys won't stop shooting us!" Jibanyan snapped before he returned to firing at the strange enemy.

"… Um, how can they see us anyway?" Hidabat questioned quietly after a moment.

"I don't knyow!"

*SPLAT!*

.

"Ah! Stupid octopus! Get off my head!" Katie cried out as she tried to pull the pink octopus from her head while running from the inklings that were rapidly firing their ink-shooting weapons. "This is one of the worst repeats yet!"

 **3.4**

"… Well this is certainly different," Seaman stated as he looked at his paws, before glancing at his fury dog body questioningly. "I don't recall an evolution like this being a natural stage of mine, and even so. Wouldn't I hatch from the egg first?"

Seaman looked around the street he was on, realizing that he wasn't in the tank this time, so there was likely no caretaker to listen.

"A human city," he mumbled as he started walking, he wasn't sure what to make of this. He had gone through the same basic cycle of events countless times at this point, that to have this big of a difference occur seemed to be a blessing, still… what caused it?

"Jinmenken!" a young boy's voice called out in Seaman's direction, and he turned in confusion.

"Jinmenken?"

"That's not Jinmenken Keita," What looked like small, white ghost floating by the human child's side said, with a disturbed look on its face.

"Excuse me, but I don't know whom this 'Jinmenken' is. The name is Seaman, and remember to get it right: Sea. Man," Seaman stated bluntly as he stared at the two, his caretaker had mispronounced his name enough times in the past. He didn't want anyone else to, especially since these were the first new people he had interacted with for what may very well have been centuries.

"Um, right. I'm Keita, and this is Whisper," The boy introduced as the ghost bowed.

"Charmed, whiss."

"Anyway, I guess you're a visiting Looper?" Keita questioned the creature that looked like Jinmenken, other than the different face and antenna sticking out of his head.

"Looper? What is that?" Seaman questioned as he stared at the human. "Does that have anything to do with how I keep returning to my egg? Do you know something about it?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Keita questioned.

"I've contemplated the reasons for my returning to my egg, and if they are time repeating, or some other effect on me. Or if perhaps it has all just been in my head. But I am aware of it, though I don't know the cause of it or what exactly it is," Seaman explained and Keita nodded.

"Don't worry, you're not crazy, I'll explain everything. You see, imagine a tree," Keita said as he began his explanation to Seaman on exactly what the Loops were.

.

"… So this will never end?" Seaman questioned with a contemplative look on his face.

"Not any time in the foreseeable future, but someday they will," Keita assured the human-faced creature, but Seaman still frowned.

"I had waited a thousand lifetimes to be reunited with her, and now… will it never happen? Was it all for nothing?" Seaman muttered to himself sadly.

"Um, hey," Keita started to say and Seaman looked over to him. "Look, I don't know what's going on in your baseline, or what you've gone through. But don't look at the Loops as a prison, or something that keeps you from moving forward. Someday our worlds will continue forward, and until then we can learn through the Loops," Keita looked to the sky for a second with a smile. "I was upset with the Loops at a time to, but I don't regret my experiences, without the Loops I wouldn't have met my brother and sisters. And I wouldn't have been able to prove that I can be something beyond average."

"Well you seem to have a lot to do here, but I'm different," Seaman didn't seem convinced by Keita's words. "My baseline is just a tank! I'm dependent on a caretaker to keep me alive whom sometimes just decides to stop taking care of me, and whenever I do finally get to the point where I can escape the tank. I'm sent straight back to my egg," Seaman clutched his head with his front paws. "So many times. I've been stuck in that tank for so long!" Keita and Whisper both looked at Seaman in concern.

"I'm not the best at this kind of thing," Keita sighed as Seaman looked up at him. "I can tell I'm not exactly being the most helpful right now. I don't know if you'll be able to meet up with this person you've been waiting to see, or say for sure if there's a way for you to make your baseline better. But I can at least help you by being your friend for the Loop."

"Friend?" Seaman questioned as Keita held his hand out to him. Seaman sighed. "Ever since this Looping thing started my only friend has been that caretaker that I could barely communicate with," Seaman took the hand with a small smile. "I must warn you that I can be a bit of a smartass at times."

"Don't worry, he's no better. Whis," Whisper commented. Keita glared at his yo-kai butler.

 **3.5**

Katie found herself back on Mt. Wildwood once more along with Eddie and Bear. Nate had already run off before her memories had hit her.

"Uh, what's going on here? I'm so confused," Katie sighed while clutching her head, she had gone through these repeats several times so far with a few variations every now and then, and she didn't understand what was going on! How was it possible to be time traveling in the first place?

"Um, Katie?" Bear called after the girl with a bit of concern in his voice, but she didn't seem to hear him. Katie wandered away from her two friends while muttering to herself.

"What's up with her?" Eddie questioned his larger friend.

"I have no idea," Bear shook his head with a sigh.

.

Katie pushed some tree branches aside as she passed through the foliage on the mountain, she wasn't even sure where she was going but she was just so frustrated right now; frustrated because she felt like she had no control over her life anymore, and that she couldn't even talk to anyone about it because if she did they'd probably just think she's crazy.

"Maybe I need a vacation," Katie sighed as she stopped for a moment, but then she heard a familiar voice up ahead. "Nate?" She questioned as she looked in the direction she heard her friend speaking in, looking out into a clearing to see him standing before some kind of gacha machine.

"Maybe I need to pull harder?" she heard him say as he tried to twist the nob on the machine. "Darn, Whisper? Can you hear me? I can't get the machine to work," Nate tapped the top of the machine a couple times before sighing. "Maybe Jibanyan or Hidabat can help."

"Nate?" the Anchor stiffened a bit at the voice calling him before he turned to see his female friend and crush staring at him curiously. "What are you doing?"

"K-Katie?" Nate questioned in surprise. Why was Katie here? Was this one of those variants where she got the Yo-kai Watch? "I was just…"

"Trying to get that machine to work?" Katie questioned while looking past him and at said machine. "So this is where you run off to at the beginning…" Katie muttered that last part quietly, but Nate heard it.

"Wait, what?" he blinked, thinking he must have misunderstood what she had just said. Katie walked up to the machine before inserting a coin and turning the dial with no issue.

"I don't get why you were having so much trouble Nate. This thing's old but it seems to work just fine," she picked up the capsule that had come out and looked at it for a few seconds. "What kind of prizes would a gacha machine in the middle of the woods give anyway?"

"Um… About that, Katie are you..?" Nate tried to think of how to ask her if she was traveling through time, the best method would probably be to just ask her directly. But he was nervous. However before Nate could figure out what he should do Katie pulled open the capsule and smoke burst out.

"Uh, took you longer than usual Nate, what kept you?" Whisper questioned while he did a few stretches. He looked at Katie who was standing in front of him with a shocked expression on her face, then to Nate whom nervously stood a few feet behind her. The ghost-like yo-kai glanced between the two children a couple of times before his eyes widened. "Oh, um. Hello, my name is Whisper and I am a yo-kai, and thank you both for freeing me! Children I have never met before!" Whisper announced in a theatric manner. Nate sweatdropped while Katie just stared in confusion.

.

"Nate, I'm really confused," Katie said as she and Nate sat on a bench in the park with Whisper hovering beside them.

"I know, and I want to help you but I need you to answer some questions first," Nate sighed while rubbing his forehead. "Katie, is time repeating for you?" Katie looked at Nate with a surprised expression after that question, she took a moment to respond.

"… Yes, I've ended up back on this day a few times, sometimes things are a little different but it's mostly the same… have you..?"

"Yes," Nate nodded quickly to the question he knew his friend was about to ask. "For a very, very long time…"

"Long time? How long?" Katie questioned and noticed that Nate looked a bit distracted.

"Geez, I lost count a long time ago, and I've not even been doing this for as long as Nate here," Whisper interjected, reminding Katie of his presence and that time travel wasn't the only weird thing going on.

"You're time traveling too!? What are you anyway?" Katie asked warily and Whisper sighed.

"I already said that I am a yo-kai. And yes, I'm time traveling too, as are two other yo-kai that we know," Whisper explained before bowing. "Whisper: yo-kai butler extraordinaire, at your service."

"Yo-kai exist? And you're a… butler?" Katie questioned a bit skeptically.

"I know this is a bit much to take in, but I'll try to explain everything as best I can," Nate said and Katie nodded before he started to give his best explanation of the Loops.

.

"Ok, so let me get this straight," Katie sat in thought after Nate had given her. "The universe is broken?"

"Multiverse actually," Whisper added but stopped talking when Nate sent him a glare before looking back at his friend.

"Um… the multiverse is broken?" Katie chose to correct herself anyway before continuing. "And time is repeating over and over, infinitely?"

"Well… not technically infinitely, but there's definitely no perceivable end for us at least," Nate sighed while Katie rubbed her head.

"Ok, and you, even before this. Have been seeing yo-kai?" Katie looked like she was still trying to grasp the concepts that had been laid out for her.

"Correct, seeing and befriending," Whisper interjected with a proud smile. "All with the help of his fateful yo-kai butler."

"Well your yo-kai pad is fateful," Nate muttered under his breath, though Whisper seemed to hear him.

"Now see here! I am an infallible source of yo-kai information-"

"Are you really still going on with that charade? We've been Looping for centuries," Nate shook his head in disapproval, which only made Whisper angrier.

"How rude! I give you my services free of charge and you have the nerve to insult me?!"

"Well you didn't exactly ask my opinion when you made yourself my butler."

"If it weren't for me you wouldn't even know what a yo-kai is!" Nate was going to respond to Whisper's shouting again when he and the ghostly yo-kai heard… laughing? They both looked over at Katie who was holding her sides as she laughed.

"Katie? What's so funny?" Nate asked with a confused look on his face.

"You!" She chuckled as she opened her eyes. "I'm still really confused about how this happened, but I can see that you're still you and that makes me feel better," after Katie said as she calmed down and gave Nate a soft smile.

"Um… right, of course I am," Nate blushed and gave a nervous chuckle while Whisper looked at him critically.

"Right, same old Nate," Whisper shook his head/body before looking back at Katie and handing her a yo-kai watch necklace. "Here, you may be able to see me but there are plenty of yo-kai you'll need that yo-kai watch to see."

"Yo-kai watch?" Katie questioned while holding it up, she pressed the button and caused the face to pop up.

"Yeah, like mine," Nate showed the yo-kai watch on his wrist. "Though after a few Loops you should be able to see the yo-kai without it with some concentration."

"Huh, that's interesting," Katie shined the light around until it hit something invisible and revealed its form to be some sort of small, pink child-like creature holding what looked like a toothpick along with a pot on its head. "Is that a yo-kai?"

"Yes, that would be," Whisper took out his yo-kai pad and quickly began swiping. "Right, we've seen this one before. Pandle. I told you that I knew what I was doing!" Whisper said smugly as he hid the yo-kai pad behind his back. But Nate didn't respond, he was just glancing between the newly revealed yo-kai and Katie. "… Nate?"

"Get out of here!" Nate suddenly shouted before he charged at the pandle. The small yo-kai noticed him approaching and began running away, Nate stopped after a moment and started shaking his fist in the direction it was running. "Don't let me see your face around here again!"

"… What's wrong with Nate?" Katie asked with a freaked out look on her face.

"I… think he might have had a bad experience with a pandle once," Whisper sweatdropped.

.

"So… you can see meow?" Jibanyan questioned as he eyed Katie while lying on the floor of Nate's bedroom, she nodded while staring oddly at the small nekomata.

"Yes, with the yo-kai watch Whisper gave me, so you're another one of those Loopers? Like Nate?" Katie questioned, Jibanyan nodded in response before laying down on his belly. Nate stood by his room's door as he watched them speak with Whisper hovering next to him.

"Yeah, been going through the Loops for quite a while, I'm usually already a yo-kai before I Wake up. So I don't usually get to spend any time with Amy… that's a little disappointing," Jibanyan sighed as he thought about this.

"What do you mean by that? How exactly do you end up a yo-kai?" Katie questioned in a concerned tone, Jibanyan sighed and shook his head.

"It's… really not a big deal anymore I guess, but thinking back on it… um, well. I got hit by a truck," Jibanyan explained as best he could.

"You got hit by a truck?" Katie questioned a little wide eyed.

"Yeah, I was a normal cat but then that truck him me and bam! Here I am," Jibanyan stated as he held his arms out.

"That's terrible!"

"Nya, it's not so bad. Being yo-kai is a bit better than being a regular cat. I can talk to people who can see me, and I have powers!" Jibanyan held out one of his paws and a fireball formed. "I'm sure with these Loops I'll see Amy again someday, but I'm willing to be patient until that happens. In the meantime hanging out with Nyate isn't that bad."

"I enjoy his company," Hidabat's small voice said from the closet, Katie looked the bat-like yo-kai's way in surprise. Nate smiled at the sight of his closet's inhabitant and walked over to her.

"Oh, you must be Hidabat, Nate mentioned you along with Jibanyan," Katie said with a gentle smile.

"Sometimes I go by Hikikomori, but yes. I'm Hidabat," the shut-in gave a small nod.

"You doing fine Hidabat?" Nate questioned her sincerely and she nodded.

"Yes, it's a little strange seeing a new person here… especially one whom can see me. But I know you trust her Nate and I think she seems nice," she said, a little timidly.

"I can't believe you've had friends like this for so long Nate," Katie chuckled as she looked between Hidabat, Jibanyan and Whisper.

"We're just the one's whom are Looping, Nate here has made friends with many more yo-kai then just us," Whisper stated proudly.

"Though I wouldn't get my hopes up for them _all_ to Loop," Nate sighed before Katie walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Nate blushed a bit but hid it from his crush.

"Well I'm still not really sure what all this means Nate, but I'm happy to be a part of it."

"Don't worry… we're not really sure what all of it means yet either," Nate sighed.

 **3.6**

"Nate, if you don't want to be late for school you better get up," Ruby giggled as she watched her little brother sleep. Nate grumbled as he pulled himself up, he looked over to his sister and nodded before he began getting dressed. When he was done he went downstairs and found his mom and dad, along with his siblings having breakfast.

"Good to see you back in the world of the living," Grif greeted before taking a bite out of a waffle.

"Shut up Grif, at least I don't see the need for an afternoon nap, along with an after afternoon nap… and an after after afternoon nap," Nate countered, but Grif just shrugged.

"One day little brother, you too will understand the importance of naps."

"Let's hope not," Cinder scoffed as she took a sip from a cup of coffee.

"Now, now, Cinder be nice. Grif don't tease your little brother. And Nate, get over here and eat so you're not late for school," their mother, whom, like their father, was one of Nate's baseline parent said firmly.

"Yes mom," The three siblings nodded before Nate joined the table.

This kind of Loop was not too out of the ordinary for Nate, finding himself in a family with his adopted out-of-Loop siblings. Though there were no yo-kai around, or there just was no yo-kai watch. He supposed there could still be yo-kai around but… that was a thought that he decided to drop.

Anyway, he was happy that all of his 'siblings' were Awake and he would have the opportunity to spend some time with them… except for maybe Cinder… he hadn't really bonded with her and she kind of… made him feel uneasy.

The oldest sister glanced the way of the youngest of the siblings and he paled slightly.

' _She can't read minds, can she?_ ' Nate thought anxiously. It certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibilities with all the crazy stuff he had seen in the Loops, or even in his Baseline…

Cinder shrugged after a moment and went back to her food and coffee. Nate let out a breath of relief.

"You know speaking of getting up, there's one person whom still isn't here," their father stated after looking around and noticing one empty seat. Ruby stood up and looked up the stairs.

"YANG! GET DOWN HERE!"

"I'M COMING! SHEASH!"

The other three sibling's ears rang at the shouts between the two youngest sisters, though the parents didn't seem very phased.

.

"Ok, you got everything you need?" Yang asked as she looked at Nate. Their parents had already left and it was his older siblings' jobs to make sure he got to school on time and safely.

"I'm fine Yang, you do know I'm Awake right?" Nate questioned his blond sister and she chuckled while patting his head.

"Of course, of course. But I still need to lookout for my baby brother."

"I wish you guys would stop calling me a baby," Nate grumbled as he got his shoes on.

"Don't worry Nate, they called me the baby for a while too!" Ruby called from the living room.

"How did you get them to stop?" Nate questioned Remnant's Anchor and he heard her chuckling.

"You became the baby!"

"That doesn't help!"

"It helped me!"

"Ruby!"

"Ok, enough! Shouldn't you get going," Cinder interrupted the little sibling-squabble before she inspected Nate. "He looks fine, send him off into the world."

"I'm getting to that," Yang stated before she nodded to Nate. "Anybody give you any trouble, just give me a call."

"Thanks Yang, but I don't think the principle wants you around the elementary school after what you did to the last bully."

"It was self-defense! Self-defense of my little brother's adorable head!"

"Don't worry, nobody has the guts to try anything after that anyway," Nate chuckled as Yang nodded with a smile.

"Well you better get going before you're late," Grif stated as he stood by the stairs.

"Shouldn't you be getting to work?" Nate questioned his only brother whom just shrugged.

"I'm taking a sick day."

"… You're not sick."

"Oh yes I am, I have a really bad case of the lazies."

"Be careful, I think it's contagious," Yang whispered to Nate in an amused tone.

"Well then… I best be going, Eddie and Bear are waiting for me," Nate stated.

"Bear… why is that his name?" Grif questioned with a shake of his head. Nate stepped outside to meet with his two friends while his siblings came out to the front porch to watch him go. Nate wasn't really that thrilled with going to school… there were no yo-kai and Katie didn't seem to be Awake. That, along with knowing most of the answers to the tests in advance made it… pretty boring. Still he was happy with this Loop and any opportunity to spend time with his 'siblings.'

"So Nate," Bear began as they walked away from his home and siblings, while Eddie messed around with something on his smartphone. "About your sisters…"

"No Bear," Nate said firmly.

"They're kind of…" Bear trailed off with a devious look on his face.

"I swear if you finish that sentence," Nate growled in a threatening manner.

"Your sisters are hot," Eddie stated absentmindedly and Bear laughed.

"THAT'S IT!" Nate shouted before he pounced on his two friends.

"Nate! What are you doing!? That's not how I taught you to punch!" Yang shouted as she came over and started yelling instructions.

"Oh brother," Cinder sighed before she just went back inside. Ruby and Grif watched the scene blankly for a few seconds; Ruby with a concerned look, and Grif not seeming to care.

"Grif… should we do something?"

"Why? Nate seems to be handling this fine."

"Come on Nate! Can't you take a joke!?" Bear's voice cried out.

"I mean step in to stop Nate…"

"Nah… this is something we should let him get out of his system."

"… You sure."

"… Positive."

 **3.7**

"Blake! Get back here with my Bumblebee!" Yang cried out as she chased her girlfriend whom was driving away with a cartoonishly large amount of stolen goods.

"Blake?" Keita questioned as she zoomed by him and Whisper.

"Stop her!" Yang yelled, stopping by her surrogate brother. Keita sighed before grabbing Whisper and zooming after Blake with the enhanced speed he shared with Ruby.

"Keita-kun! Hold up!" Whisper cried as he felt sick moving at this speed. They stopped when they got in front of Blake and forced her to hit the brakes.

"Out of the way!" Blake yelled in aggravation.

"Blake's acting odd, there must be a yo-kai!" Keita concluded before taking out his watch.

"Keita-kun, what have I told you about blaming yo-kai for everything? Blake simply needs to learn some self-control. I'd think by now you would have learned-"

"Found it!" Keita exclaimed when his light hit something and revealed what looked like a fat, purple penguin hovering near Blake.

"What!? There was one!?" Whisper shouted in surprise. "Er, I mean. Of course there is, this is um," Whisper quickly took out his yo-kai pad and tried to look for the name.

"Yokodori, AKA Peckpocket, AKA we've seen this one before," Keita said with shake of his head.

"Um, yes. Of course I knew that. I was just testing you," Whisper insisted.

"Whatever," Keita shook his head before glaring at the avian yo-kai. "Yokodori, stop inspiriting Blake right now!"

"What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine!" Yokodori said uncaringly and Blake's eyes flashed.

"Mine, mine, mine!" before she zoomed past Keita and went ahead. Kaita took a look at himself and confirmed Blake hadn't taken anything from him.

"Huh, odd. I'd think she'd have stolen something from me, that's weird, huh Whisper?" no response. "… Whisper?" he looked and noticed his ghostly butler was no longer by his side.

"Keita-kun! Help!" Whisper cried out as he was taken away along with the rest of the stuff Blake had stolen.

"Oh great…" Keita sighed as he prepared to give chase.

"Blake! Stop it!" Yang yelled as she finally caught up and took a second to catch her breath.

 **3.8 wildrook**

"This is the first I've heard of it," Whisper replied, he and Nate looking at this place. "Mons Convention?"

Nate gave a look-around. "Well," he said, "might as well check out the place. Let's go, Jibanyan! Yo-Kai Watch, do your thing!"

"You don't have to shout," a voice said, surprising them. "I'm right here."

Whisper and Nate just looked at Jibanyan, who had been busy with a tail.

"Jibanyan?" Nate yelled.

"How long have you been here?" Whisper asked him.

"I've been looking at this strange electric-tailed Yokai for quite a while," Jibanyan replied, playing with the tail. "However, it's not responding to it."

Electric tailed Yokai? Nate's face had contorted into a grimace. "Jibanyan, that's not a Yokai," Nate said. "That's a Pokémon."

"Poke-what?" Jibanyan asked him. "What's that mean?"

"It means Pocket Monster," a voice said. "And I suggest not playing with that tail if you know what's good for you."

Imagine their surprise when a cat with a coin on its head had appeared, Nate recognizing the cat while Whisper was just looking up the monsters in the Yokai Wiki.

"Okay," Whisper said, not finding any results, "you know more about these things than I do."

"That's a Meowth," Nate replied, "and Jibanyan's playing with a Pikachu tail."

"Dat's right," Meowth said. "And dat's no ordinary Pikachu. That's our world's Anchor."

"Anchor?"

Pikachu had finally noticed Jibanyan's touch and shocked the Yo-Kai on instinct.

"Sorry about that," Pikachu replied. "Reflex."

"Jiba-nyan..." Jibanyan said, charred.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Whisper snarked.

Pikachu then looked at Meowth. "You guys set up the stand?" Pikachu asked Meowth, who nodded. "Great. Now, who are you guys?"

"I'm Nate, that's Whisper, and the cat Yokai you just shocked was Jibanyan," Nate replied.

"What raw power," Whisper replied. "How long have you been Looping?"

"Longer than you guys, I presume," Pikachu replied. "This is your first time to the Mons convention?"

"We weren't even aware there were conventions for stuff like that," Nate replied, picking up Jibanyan. "Still, mind giving us a tour?"

"We can do more than dat," Meowth said. "We can introduce you to da other Mon-based Loopers. Dat's what Conventions are for in Yggdrasil."

Nate then chuckled. "Well," he said, "no time like the present to meet the others."

And with that, Nate, Whisper, and Jibanyan entered the convention. Who knows what they're going to meet up with.

 **3.9 wildrook**

"Oh, you are kidding me," Nate muttered. "You're telling me that Kiwi..."

"Kyubi," the Yokai-in-Human form said. "Kee-you-bee. It's not that hard to pronounce."

"...Whatever, this guy was trying to hit on you?"

Katie was embarrassed. "Well, to be honest," she muttered, "I didn't think he was a Yokai at the time. Nor did I think he was hitting on me."

"It's like Manjimutt all over again," Jibanyan muttered. "Only this guy's less freakish."

Kyubi growled. "You're comparing me to that Man-Faced-Dog!?" he yelled, freaking out Jibanyan. "The indignity of it all!"

"Whoa, calm down," Nate replied, getting between the two. "He didn't mean anything by it. Anyways, why were you trying to woo Katie, anyways?"

Kyubi then gave out a chuckle. "Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to gather 100 hearts to become the Fox Lord. Katie just had this resistance that made her more desirable."

Nate then cringed. "I was better off not knowing," he muttered. "Still, why come to me, Kate?"

"Probably because when I met him," Katie said, looking in her pocket, "I managed to get this."

She then brought out a medal, much to the three's surprise.

"That's how she saw right through my ways," Kyubi replied. "I ended up becoming her partner Yokai."

"And last I checked," Whisper added, "he's a very powerful Yokai. S-Class, to be precise."

Nate was somewhat impressed. "And that's your first Yokai," he said. "I usually have to work HARD in order to befriend an S-Class one."

"Well, this might be your lucky day, human," Kyubi said, holding out his hand. "I need you to do three things, though...actually, four, because I'm feeling kind of peckish."

Nate, Whisper, and Jibanyan gave each other a look. This was not going to be easy.

 **3.10 wildrook**

Takaharu Igasaki was outright confused.

Especially when a Ghost had shown up claiming to be a Yo-Kai after he inserted 100 yen inside the Gachapon Machine

"You don't exactly look like you're powered by a Sealed Shuriken," he said to the ghost.

"You're definitely new here," the Ghost replied. "Because you're not exactly Nate or Katie. Who are you, really?"

Takaharu gave out a sigh. "Well, you're willing to talk, like the Zaraki-Warashi Sasuke-sensei told me about." He then brought out his Ninja Ichibantou and the Nin Shuriken. "I call myself Takaharu Igasaki, and I'm a ninja...Akaninger, to be precise."

"Well, you can call me Whisper, but not a lot of people outright call themselves Ninja out loud."

"I'm the type that doesn't hide," Takaharu looked around. "So, what is this place."

"Ah, that's easy," Whisper replied. "Welcome to the world of Yo-Kai Watch, and I'll be your Yo-Kai Butler. By the way, catch." He then tossed Takaharu a Yo-Kai Watch. "I take it you're familiar with Yokai?"

"It's a long story." He then walked around. "This brings up the question, though... any Yokai I could meet that would be interested in a sparring match?"

"You'd probably be looking for someone in the Tough Class. Why, are you using the Nanoha Takamichi method of befriending Yokai?"

Takaharu blinked. "The who?"

Next thing he knew, he ended up fighting a Yokai that reminded him of Kyuuemon. Specifically, Kyubi.

Takaharu was NOT lost on the irony.

"Of course I'd run into a Fox-based Yokai," he muttered. "As if Kyuuemon wasn't enough already."

Kyubi had given him a stare. "And you decided to show up in my quest to become Fox Lord," he said. "However, the way you handle your power, you've got me curious. It's been awhile since I've had a good fight."

"Be careful," Whisper replied. "Kyubi's an S-Class Yokai. Not one to be trifled with."

"I had a feeling." Takaharu then brought out the Ninja Ichibanto and the AkaNinger Nin Shuriken. "Then I'd better get creative."

THE HENGE! NIN NIN NIN! NIN NININ NIN! NIN NIN NIN! NIN NININ NIN!

"SHURIKEN HENGE!" Takaharu yelled, pressing the button and spinning the Nin Shuriken.

AKA NINGER!

The change was instantaneous as he changed into a red-clad warrior.

Whisper would have been surprised if it wasn't for Nate having a similar system.

"THE WILD BRILLIANCE!" he yelled. "AKANINGER!"

"Aren't you a little bright and loud to be a Ninja?" Kyubi mocked.

"I don't hide," AkaNinger retorted. "I RAMPAGE!"

Then they decided to clash, both Takaharu and Kyubi slashing each other.

It's well-known that foxes are masters of illusion. Kyubi had the upper hand by diverting Takaharu's attention, getting in a few strikes.

"You're too predictable!" Kyubi yelled, before striking Takaharu in the chest.

However, the term ninja was emphasized due to him using the Kawarimi no Jutsu.

"Oh right," Kyubi muttered before being struck in the back. "You weren't kidding when you said you were a ninja."

"NINPOU! BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Takaharu yelled, making multiple copies of himself. All of them attempted to strike the fox if it wasn't for the counter-strikes.

"You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeves!" Kyubi yelled, using Foxfire.

Takaharu looked like he was struck before he and his body doubles faded.

"AGAIN?" Kyubi yelled, countering a strike from above. "Is there anything you can do other than body doubles?"

"HURRICANGER!" the Ninja Ichibanto yelled as he spinned the Nin Shuriken, changing the Ninja Ichibantou into the HayateMaru gun, blasting Kyubi close up.

Kyubi looked annoyed. "Sorry I asked," he muttered. Another clash was made as they struck, the Ichibantou changing back to its normal self.

"I get it," Whisper muttered, watching the fight go on. "That's the difference between Keita and Takaharu. Nate is more of a speedster while Takaharu relies on deception and brute force. And I've never seen Kyubi fight before, so his powers are very shocking."

"WHISPER!" a voice yelled. "Hidabat just finished the Nin Shuriken conversion!"

"Jibanyan! Perfect timing." Whisper then looked at the fight. "Looks like they're on even ground... wait, Nin Shuriken Conversion?"

Jibanyan nodded. "Robonyan helped out with the technology," he said. "She just created a Yo-Kai Nin Shuriken!"

"Yokai nin WHAT!?" Takaharu and Whisper yelled, Kyubi taking advantage of the opening and taking him down.

"You're open!" Kyubi yelled.

Whisper looked around as Jibanyan brought out the Nin Shuriken in question.

"Takaharu!" Jibanyan yelled. "CATCH!" He then threw over the Nin Shuriken modeled after the Yokai Watch and Takaharu caught it before Kyubi could land a strike.

"Hmm," Kyubi muttered. "Now I'm curious. What's that thing going to do?"

"I don't know," Takaharu replied, taking out a random Yo-Kai Medal and inserting it into the Shuriken. He then attached it. "But the anticipation is firing me up!"

YOKAI SHURIKEN! ENHANCING, BRAVE! ISHIMASHI! ISHIMASHI! ISHIMASHI-ZOKU!

"Where's this wind coming from?" Kyubi muttered. "And why is it...oh. He managed to get it to work." He then smirked. "Not bad."

"Was that the Shogunyan Medal, nyan?" Jibanyan asked Whisper.

"Brave medal with wind abilities," Whisper replied, on the Yokai Pad. "And a Class S Legend type, too. I haven't seen anything like this since Keita's Spectral Fang"

THE WAZA! NANJA NANJA! NANJA NANJA!

"NINJA ISSEN!" Takaharu yelled, striking Kyubi with it as Kyubi did a fire strike with his own blow.

The damage to the area was devastating as both opponents had stood there...before they both collapsed, Takaharu losing form.

"Did you plan this?" Kyubi asked him.

"No," Takaharu replied. "But really, call it an urge to spar against someone other than my Grandfather as well as some pent up aggression against another fox-like opponent."

Kyubi gave out a chuckle. "I will admit," he said, "fighting against you is an experience. Not often can a human show up to match a Yo-Kai blow by blow. I haven't heard of something like that since Zerberker fought a samurai with a Yo-Kai Watch."

Takaharu blinked. "Eh?" he yelled. "There's another one with a Yokai Watch? And...I don't know that many samurai... did he have a bunch of guys wearing black with him known as Kuroko?"

Kyubi blinked. "You know of this particular one?"

"Yeah, he uses Mojikara instead of Ninjality. I heard his name was Shiba Takeru."

"That's quite the staggering coincidence," Whisper replied, watching them. "Although...the first Yo-Kai Nin Shuriken... and to see it in action...good thing Hidabat was awake. Does everyone from your Branch crave battle?"

"Not everyone," Takaharu replied. "Grandpa introduced me to the Shiba Clan knowing about the Time Loops without having the Awakening Factor. Usually, Ninjas and Samurai don't get along, but Sentai bonding usually comes first."

Kyubi then smirked. "Well, you've earned my respect," he said. "That was a good fight. Here."

Next thing Takaharu knew, he was given Kyubi's medal.

"I'll be looking forward to the rematch," he said before disappearing.

Takaharu smirked. "So am I," he said.

Now Takaharu had two things on his mind: Why was Shiba Takeru in this Branch, and how many Yo-Kai are going to come to him for a sparring match?

Unknown to anyone, someone else was watching, smirking at the battle.

"Guess he can handle an S-Class Yokai," he said. "Not bad for the latest Sentai Anchor. Still wondering why his Grandfather wanted me to oversee his training."

On the Shinkenmaru was an Inromaru that had a Yo-Kai Watch insignia. Why it was a necessity, he could never figure out.

Otherwise, he had to figure out how strong Takaharu could be. Kid was still cocky and the Loops were quite harsh, so he needed all the training he could get.

 **3.11**

Keita and Fumi both sat on the swings in the park with Jibanyan resting nearby and Whisper floating beside Keita. Fumi had a contemplative look on her face.

"So wait, the time I kept getting tired of things I was doing..?"

"That was a yo-kai's fault," Keita nodded.

"And the time Kuma kept stealing stuff?"

"Yo-kai," Keita nodded again.

"The time you kept saying 'no way?'"

"Yo-kai," Whisper shrugged.

"The time you kept making all those insincere apologies?"

"Yo-kai, yup," Jibanyan yawned–Keita scratched his head in embarrassment.

"The time I kept getting this urge to do bad stuff?"

"Yeah, that was a yo-kai too," Keita muttered.

"And the time I… um," Fumi looked away and blushed a little.

"Got all clingy and jealous towards Keita-kun and tried to move in with him? Yeah that was definitely a yo-kai," Whisper nodded with his arms crossed. Keita smacked him out of the air. "Ow!"

"… Is everything that happens to us caused by yo-kai?" Fumi questioned while frowning.

"No, not everything… well," Keita looked unsure of what to say. Whisper crossed his arms and looked annoyed.

"You do have a habit on blaming everything on yo-kai."

"But isn't he always right?" Jibanyan questioned while rolling onto his stomach. Whisper didn't have any response to that.

 **3.12 wildrook**

"In my years of experience," Whisper said, looking at his pad for the Yo-Kai Wikipedia Page, "I've never seen any of the Jibanyan family jump that high, let alone Jibanyan, Shogunyan, and Robonyan at the same time."

Nate gave out a groan. Walkappa just blinked.

"I just came here to ask for pizza ingredients," Walkappa said. "I didn't think all three of them would jump at the first sight of a cucumber."

"No, it's not your fault," Nate replied. "My only annoyance is how I'm going to explain WHY THERE'S A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF MY ROOM!"

That's when the door opened, revealing Hidabat.

"Why is there a hole in the middle of the room?" she asked Nate.

"I'LL BE BACK!" Robonyan yelled, off-screen. Shogunyan and Jibanyan just fell.

"Oh."

 **3.13 GammaTron**

"Not so funny, is it?" Ruby giggled.

"Oh hah-hah-hah. Very funny, universe!" Grif shook a hand at the air.

"Oh come on, Grif. It's not that bad," Yang giggled, "Just think about what you can do now."

"... Someone get me a normal-sized slice of pizza," Grif ordered, pointing his hand at them.

"So their extension came with a new average thing they'll Loop through?" Keita asked, looking at his brother turned Mega Blocks standing on the table which was displaying a makeshift Valhalla.

"It seems like it. Quite hilarious," Cinder smirked.

"You better not be thinkin' of lightin' us up!" Sarge demanded on top of Red Base, "Ah've got mah birthday present and Ah ain't 'fraid t' use it!"

Ruby fell over laughing, "Th-Their voices are high pitched!"

"Only one of us that still sounds the same is Caboose," Simmons noted.

"Put. Me. Down," Church glowered at Caboose.

"But you are a toy now! And toys are huggable!" Caboose cheered.

"You're a toy, too, tree-dang it! Branch! We're censored like this!" Church shouted in annoyance.

"Oh my Tree, you're right! I am a toy, too!" Caboose realized before he pulled Church into a bear hug, "Now I can hug you and me at the same time!"

"(Seriously. Why am I a head even now?!)" Lopez complained, a head beside Sarge.

"You're right, Lopez. If she tried t' use her fire on us, we'll blast her with all th' firecrackers we've got!" Sarge nodded his head.

"(Sarge. Learn. Spanish. Already!)"

Sarge chuckled, "Oh, Lopez, Ah love ya too."

"(I hate you.)"

"Whisper... are... are you really recording this?" Keita gawked at the butler.

"But of course. Delta asked me to do this if he wasn't around at the moment," Whisper replied, "And Theta gave me puppy dog eyes."

"But he wears a helmet all the time."

"I could feel the Puppy Dog Eyes through it," Whisper shivered before they both blinked twice at the empty plate with Grif in it.

"I. have. no. regrets..." Grif groaned.

"Wow. He ate the entire slice in three seconds flat," Ruby blinked twice.

 **3.14**

Nate, Katie, and Jibanyan were all seated at a table in a kitchen. For some reason things around them seemed to be made of felt and the window to outside looked like a flat image.

"… Um, what are we doing here exactly?" Katie questioned after a second. Nate looked around suspiciously, and Jibanyan yawned. Suddenly a notepad on the table flipped open by itself to reveal it had a face, and it began singing.

"What's your favorite idea? Mine is being creative!"

"Nope!" Nate pushed the notepad off the table without a second thought. Jibanyan and Katie both blinked.

"Wait, what was that about?" Katie asked while looking very confused.

"I've seen this video, and I'll have no part in it," Nate grunted before he got up from the table and walked off… towards what appeared to be a camera crew run by weird creatures that were just large pairs of eyes with duck feet. Nate walked off into the ambiguous setting that was their studio.

"… How did we miss that?" Katie questioned blankly. Jibanyan absentmindedly rolled around an orange he had taken from a basket of fruit.

 **3.15**

Keita roared as he charged forward, leaving a trail of rose petals along his way. His scythe out, with a Jibanyan medal in place which had changed its color to the pink of the Pretty tribe. His cloaked opponent stood completely still as he approached and just as he was about to swing his weapon, she vanished.

"Nice try," Keita heard his sister's voice say before she appeared behind him with her own weapon out and ready. She swung Crescent Rose at him but he blocked the slash with Spectral Fang. The two traded blows rapidly while running around the mountain range they were currently in.

"I'm going to hit you this time!" Keita cried out as he continued his assault, but Ruby easily blocked or dodged all of his hits. Ruby suddenly vanished from sight again and Keita looked around frantically for her. He noticed Ruby appearing and disappearing around the mountains and quickly switched Spectral Fang to gun mode and attempted to shoot his fire balls at her, but she always disappeared before they could hit her.

"Listen bro, you've definitely improved," in an instant Ruby appeared before Keita and knocked him to the ground. "But you're not ready to beat me!" she changed her weapon to gun mode and pointed it at him. "Do you yield?"

"… I yield," Keita sighed with his head low. Ruby smiled at him and held her hand out, her younger brother took it before she pulled him to his feet. Suddenly the mountain range they were fighting in faded away before they exited Beacon's training room. "One of these days I'm going to get you to go all out Ruby…"

"Maybe, but you've still got a long way to go," Ruby chuckled while ruffling Keita's hair. Keita pushed her hands away and gave her an irritated look.

"Just you wait, next time I'll use more than Jibanyan's medal. You won't know what hit you!"

"You won't have the opportunity to switch it, you need to figure out how to switch the medal faster," Ruby shook her head while Keita looked at Spectral Fang in thought before removing Jibanyan's medal, causing the weapon to return to its base white color. "Now then, I believe we had a deal," Keita sighed at the devious smile on his surrogate–but also currently biological–sister's face.

"Right, right. Two dozen cookies coming up," he shook his head with a small smile.

 **3.16**

"Well that was boring," Nate sighed as he, Whisper and Katie were walking down the sidewalk after school.

"So what, school's not important anymore because you're like a super genius or something now?" Katie questioned with a raised brow.

"I wouldn't call myself a genius, but you have to admit it's not interesting repeating the same couple years of classes over and over again with little variation. You can't tell me you haven't memorized all the answers after your first couple Loops," Nate said while crossing his arms.

"Well… I admit you have a point," Katie muttered while scratching her head.

"Nate, you're attitude towards school isn't really something you should be rubbing off on your friends, we could get an expansion any Loop now," Whisper stated with his arms crossed, but Nate just scoffed.

"I doubt that any expansion will have any classes that benefit me. You forget that I've been learning stuff outside of our branch too," Nate said while shaking his head. Whisper gave him an irritated look while Katie's was a concerned one. Whatever else this conversation was leading to was cut off when the area went dark and everything seemed to freeze.

"What the? Is this..?" Katie looked around a bit fearfully while Nate and Whisper both got serious expressions.

"Terror Time," they both said while looking around for where the oni would appear. A loud roar could be heard from around the corner, and they looked to see the red oni Gargaros stomping towards them. Katie stepped back a little in fear but Nate and Whisper seemed relieved.

"It's just Gargaros," Nate shook his head. "Don't worry guys, I'll handle this quickly," Nate smirked a bit as he stepped towards the approaching yo-kai.

"Don't go overboard Nate," Whisper muttered with a bit of concern.

"What is Nate doing?" Katie asked, stepping forward again and looking at Whisper. Whisper gave her a kind smile and patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, this isn't that big a deal. Nate can handle it," he nodded as he said that and she nodded back a bit hesitantly as they watched their Anchor stand before the large beast.

"GARGA!" Gargaros roared, stomping on the ground and holding its club high. Nate stood before it looking unaffected by the display.

"Ok Gargaros, we can do this the easy way," Nate began before he pulled Spectral Fang from his pocket and held it in a combat ready stance. "Or the hard way!"

.

The fight had gone by in what seemed to be a blur, Katie wasn't even sure if could call it a fight. Nate had moved too quickly for the oni to even touch him and he used his scythe to slice its club in two. Eventually the oni retreated when it became obvious it couldn't win… still.

"Well that was easy," Nate commented as he walked back over to Whisper and Katie, still holding his modified mechanical scythe as the effects of Terror Time faded.

"Didn't I say not to go overboard?" Whisper questioned with his arms crossed.

"That wasn't overboard, bringing out the modified Meta armor I'm working on would've been overboard," Nate commented with a smirk on his face.

"Nate… you have a scythe!?" Katie suddenly exclaimed, staring at the weapon in her friend's hands. Nate nodded and held Spectral Fang before Katie.

"Not just a scythe, it's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle–modified to use yo-kai medals for fuel and ammo," Nate explained proudly.

"Um… wha?" Katie muttered with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"It's also a gun," Nate stated, shifting Spectral Fang to gun mode before he placed it back in his Sub-Space Pocket. Katie just stared at him blankly for a few seconds.

"You… have a scythe… that is also a gun?"

"… Yes."

"… And you use this… regularly?"

"You would be surprised how often combat comes up even in our Baseline," Nate shrugged, Whisper nodded. Katie stared for a few more seconds before shaking her head in disbelief.

 **3.17 wildrook**

"I don't know why a Yo-Kai would diet," Nate said, looking at Infinite near their dinner table, "but for the life of me, I'm afraid to find out."

Indeed, Whisper had brought out three small chicken legs and a head of cabbage, which made Nate a bit skeptical considering the rumors of what a Looper can do with it.

Infinite was not amused. "What is this?" he asked the Yo-Kai Butler.

"Chicken, sir," Whisper replied. "Oh, right, you probably don't recognize it without the stuffing and dressing."

The Yo-Kai was not amused. "I can't do this anymore, human! I can't give up my favorite foods cold turkey!" Then Infinite went into a nostalgic binge. "Oh my God. Turkey. With pillowy mounds of mashed potatoes. Butter-drenched dressing. Tiny onions. Swimming in a sea of cream sauce." He then gave out a nostalgic sigh.

"Snap out of it, Infinite!" Jibanyan yelled, scratching the Yokai. "You're scaring Nate-nyan!"

"I'm less confused and more wondering why he decided to channel Phil Banks," Nate muttered.

At that moment, Infinite snapped and threw the table out the window.

Near the shrine, Kyubi was dealing with an unwanted guest.

"Uh," a devil-like creature said, "swiggity swooty. I'm coming for the booty."

Kyubi groaned. "I think you've mistaken me for Frostail," he said, growling. "Or any female Yokai in general." At this point, he would give anything to get rid of Beelzebold.

Said anything happened to be in the form of a table as he stepped aside, Beelzebold getting smacked by it.

The Nine-Tailed Yo-Kai recognized the table. "Isn't this from Adams's house?" he muttered, ignoring the groans from the downed devil Yo-Kai.

Back at said residence, Nate, Jibanyan, and Whisper were looking at the hole in the window.

"Is this a Yo-Kai thing?" he asked the three.

"Now you know why Yo-Kai don't normally diet," Whisper replied, double-facepalming.

 **3.18**

"I… What are we looking at?" Fumi questioned with a freaked out expression on her face, an equally freaked our Keita and Whisper stood beside her.

"I… have no idea," Keita muttered.

"Woo! Let's go get some chocobo bars!"

"It's gonnya be nyap time soon!"

"You all going to the NyaKB concert?"

"YES!"

"I have no words," Whisper muttered. The city was… different this Loop. There were orange and white hair balls hopping around that sprouted into Jibanyan heads with segmented hairball bodies. The houses, and stop signs had cat ears and were dancing. The street lights were dancing. Jibanyans drove cars that were also Jibanyans. A train made up of Jibanyan heads with smaller Jibanyan heads for wheels could be seen going by on the nearby train tracks, with Jibanyans in every window.

"I… How does this kind of thing even occur?" Fumi questioned while holding her head.

"Um… Well look at the bright side, it could be weirder," Keita shrugged. Before a gigantic Jibanyan that had two Jibanyan heads in place of eyes, as well as legs made up of smaller Jibanyans came stomping by.

"NyaKB! NyaKB! NyaKB!" The different Jibanyans that made up the monstrosity chanted.

"Chocolate!" One of them exclaimed as it stomped away. Keita, Fumi and Whisper just continued staring.

"We shall never speak of this again," Keita stated firmly.

"Agreed!" Whisper and Fumi nodded.

 **3.19**

"So, you're letting Komasan and Komajiro live with you this Loop?" Nate questioned and he and Katie stood in her room and watched the two small lion-dogs make themselves at home.

"They kind of just wandered in, they seemed so lost so I thought it would be fine… it's not like my parents can see them anyway," Katie explained while looking a little embarrassed.

"No, I get it. I have my own houseguests after all," Nate shrugged.

"Where is Whisper anyway?" Katie questioned, having noticed that Nate's ghostly butler wasn't following him like usual.

"Eh, I gave him the day off," Nate shrugged, his friend blinked in confusion.

"You… can do that?"

"Apparently…"

"Excuse me Ms. Katie," Komasan waved his paw catching both human's attention. "I would just like to say that my brother and I sure are grateful for you taking us in and all."

"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Komajiro nodded before both yo-kai bowed.

"Oh, no problem," Katie smiled and nodded to the two.

"If there's anything we can do for ya'll just ask," Komasan added kindly.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just happy to help."

"Though I do wonder why the place we've been staying since we came to the city isn't available anymore… And why we seem to have jumped back in time," Komasan muttered with a confused look on his face. Komajiro looked confused while Katie and Nate stared at the little lion-dog in shock.

"Brother, what are you talking about? We just got here," Komajiro questioned confusedly.

"Huh? No we've been here for a while, also it's a pretty big surprise that someone other than Nate can see us… Or was your name Keita?" Komasan questioned while looking up at Nate.

"What? We've never met him," Komajiro muttered. Nate and Katie both looked like they were trying to figure out what to say at this new revelation.

.

"So that's the gist of what's going on," Nate sighed after explaining this to both Komasan and Komajiro–despite the fact that Komajiro didn't seem to be Looping, he had a feeling the electric komainu would soon follow his brother's lead.

"Oh my swirls…" Komasan muttered to himself as he and Komajiro both processed what they've been told.

"It's shocking, I know. Though yo-kai existing was also pretty shocking for me. But the Loops can be pretty fun if you can find something to do," Katie said in an encouraging voice.

"Something to do, huh?" Komasan was in thought, though Komajiro looked concerned.

"But from what you said; I'm not Looping. So, I'm going to forget all of this? Or will I be gone and replaced with an alternate me," Komajiro questioned with a scared look in his eyes. Nate went over to the golden lion-dog's side and pat his head comfortingly.

"Don't worry, I assure you that while memories may be lost to the Loops, your you–your soul is still the same through the variants, even if they behave different it will still be you," Nate assured the concerned brother whom looked at him with a hopeful look in his eyes and nodded.

"I won't have my brother left out, don't worry Komajiro, you'll be coming to the next Loop with your memories intact!" Komasan declared boldly.

"Brother…" Komajiro looked at Komasan in wonder, by all accounts the little fire komainu shouldn't be able to follow through on that declaration, but the way he had spoken made Komajiro want to believe him. His eyes narrowed in determination and he nodded. "I'm sure of it! I'll remember this moment, and all that come after for this Loop!"

"Can that happen Nate?" Katie whispered to Nate worriedly.

"I don't know, but strange things happen in the Loops all the time…" Nate whispered back while he watched the two siblings talk about what they'll do for the Loops in the future. "But I'd believe it could happen."

 **Next Loop…**

"Well brother, it's time to head off to the city," Komasan said after he finished packing his bindle and beginning the trek from their shrine to the city.

"To the city, and wherever the Loops may take us," Komajiro smiled at his brother whom smiled back.

* * *

 **Closing Comments.**

 **3.1: There's nothing 'regular' about that place…**

 **3.2: The more armor you have, the more you can beat them onis.**

 **3.3: Wearing an octopus on your head does not make you an Octarian, though I'm not sure the Inklings realize that…**

 **3.4: Nate/Keita's not really that adapt at helping people deal with issues like this. But he is good at making friends.**

 **3.5: Fumi/Katie is Looping! Secrets out! Well, it wasn't really a secret, but either way the others know now. And Fumi/Katie knows that Nate/Keita has been seeing yo-kai even before this Looping started.**

 **3.6: Nate/Keita is happy to have his out of Loop siblings visiting (except Cinder…). He however, is not so happy with his friends taking notice of his sisters…**

 **3.7: Blake stealing stuff? It's the work of a yo-kai!**

 **3.8: I wonder where the Digimon panel is.**

 **3.9: I'm not sure if you should trust that fox…**

 **3.10: Honestly, I don't really know what's going on in this one, so 'No Comment.' '^^**

 **3.11: Let's blame the yo-kai! It's all their fault!**

 **3.12: Cats apparently don't like cucumbers, even ghost, and/or cyborg cats…**

 **3.13: I guess Nate/Keita's the 'big' brother now XD.**

 **3.14: Let's get creative!**

 **3.15: Nate/Keita's really taking after Ruby.**

 **3.16:… He's** _ **really**_ **taking after Ruby.**

 **3.17: Flip the Table!**

 **3.18: cyriak.**

 **3.19: Two little lion-dogs find their way into the Loops!**


	4. Chapter 4

**4.1**

"Ok, you're coming with us freak-show," one of the officers said as they apprehended Jinmenken.

"I'm just a dog I tell you! A dog!" the yo-kai cried out as they handcuffed him and started forcing him into the police car.

"Tell it to the judge."

"Excuse me, officers," the two policemen turned to see a young boy with brown hair looking at them with a concerned expression.

"What do you need kid? We're in the middle of something."

"Where are you taking my dog?"

"What? Your _dog_?" One of the officers asked with a skeptical look on his face.

"See! I told you I'm just a dog!" Jinmenken insisted, despite not really knowing what Keita's plan was. He even threw in a few barks to drive the point home. Though the policemen still did not look convinced.

"Exactly what proof do you have that this freak-show is your dog?" the other officer asked and Keita looked annoyed.

"First of all, I would like if you refrained from calling him 'freak-show,' second of all, I have all his adoption and medical records here," Keita handed the police a stack of papers, that he had seemingly pulled from nowhere. "And if you take a look at his collar, you'll find his license with my home number and address on it."

A quick look confirmed that Jinmenken did indeed have a collar with said information on it, despite the officers, or Jinmenken for that matter, not remembering it being there moments ago.

After looking over all the papers one of the police sighed before they removed the cuffs from the human-faced dog and released him.

"This all checks out, just keep your, er, 'dog' out of trouble from now on," the policemen said, handing the papers back to Keita whom nodded.

"Will do officer, I just hope you refrain from arresting innocent dogs in the future," Keita said with a triumphant smirk on his face. The two policemen gave him an annoyed look, but quickly got back into their police car and left.

"Thank you, but… How did you do that?" Jinmenken questioned, tugging at the collar around his neck.

"Never mind how I did it, just be a bit more careful in the future," the boy removed the collar from the yo-kai's neck and nodded. "I'm not sure I'll be able to pull that off a second time if they try to arrest you again, especially not if they call my parents."

"Right, of course," Jinmenken nodded, though there was a bit of nervousness to his tone. After all, he wasn't so sure he could avoid this sort of thing happening again.

"I know some yo-kai that can keep themselves hidden when they want, despite their power. They could probably teach you to be invisible to humans when you want," Keita said with a thoughtful look, Jinmenken's ears perked up a bit.

"Really?" he asked hopefully, Keita nodded.

"Yeah, I'll try to contact them later. But for now let's not worry about it. Come on, I'll buy you a steak," Keita offered, as they both walked off into the night.

 **4.2 Boohoooo!**

Whisper whistled as he was bathing something.

"What'cha doing Whisper?" Nate asked his Yo-Kai butler.

"Washing this new Yo-Kai!" An unawake Whisper said, pointing to Brain Gremlin.

"You might wanna run." He drawled to a terrified Nate.

10 minutes later, Nate, Whisper and Jibanyan screamed and ran from a humongous horde of Gremlins.

 **4.3**

"Jibanyan, are you just going to sleep there all Loop?" the cat yo-kai opened one eye and looked up at his local Anchor from his position on the rug. He gave a yawn and scratched his butt.

"Maybe… I may get up to get a choco bar in a little bit," Jibanyan shrugged before closing his eyes again. Nate sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Geeze, you are the laziest cat."

"Don't I know it," Jibanyan responded almost proudly. Whisper floated over to Nate and crossed his arms.

"Leave him be Nate, he'll move when he wants to," The yo-kai butler stated and Nate nodded.

"I suppose so…"

"Huff, lazy? Him? Don't make me laugh," the sudden voice caused both Nate and Whisper to blink and look around, though Jibanyan didn't react to it.

"That voice," Nate muttered before he activated his Yo-kai Watch and shined the light around his room, the light focused on a shadow on his bed and a yo-kai that looked sort of like a little orange dinosaur in a robe, with long bushy eyebrows and a similar looking beard appeared.

"Hey," the newly revealed creature waved lazily.

"A yo-kai!?" Whisper exclaimed before quickly pulling out his yo-kai pad and trying to search on it without being noticed. "That yo-kai is, um…"

"Grif, you're a N'more?" Nate questioned, throwing Whisper off his game.

"Grif!?" Whisper asked in surprise before staring at the N'more on the bed, whom yawned.

"Yeah, I was enjoying being unseen for a while. Nobody complains about me sleeping when they can't see me… hey, can't you see yo-kai without the watch?"

"If I focus on where they are, but the watch makes it easier," Nate answered simply and Grif nodded. "Wait, why did you speak up?"

"Simple, because that cat seems to think he can proclaim himself to be truly lazy," Grif pointed towards Jibanyan, who's ear twitched before he opened an eye and looked at the yo-kai on the bed.

"What? Of course I'm lazy. Look I'm taking a cat nyap ryight nyeow…" Jibanyan let out a yawn but Grif didn't look impressed… and Nate and Whisper wondered if there was anything that _should_ be impressive about a yawn.

"He also eats a lot of chocolate," Nate mentioned with a shrug, wondering where this was going.

"My favorite snack, gotta keep a good supply of 'em," Jibanyan nodded.

"Ha, you call yourself lazy? You call yourself a glutton? I bet you also think you can make a mess of the place real easy-like?" Grif questioned Jibanyan critically.

"I'm not really the kind of cat to clean," Jibanyan shrugged with an air of confidence.

"Maybe in your Baseline kid, but this is the Loops. And in the Loops everything is different," Grif explained while Jibanyan got to his feet and glared at him.

"What? You think you'd be much better at it?"

"I know I am. Trust me, I've been perfecting the art of laziness since before your branch even started Looping!"

"Well, why don't you put your money where your mouse is?"

"Oh come on! That one's not even a cat pun!"

"Are you going to complain about my word choices, or are you going to put your ability of sloth to the test?" Jibanyan raised a brow with a cocky smirk on his muzzle. Grif glared down at him.

"You won't know what hit you cat, a competition it shall be. Let the best lazy, gluttonous slob win!"

"You're on!"

"What just happened?" Nate questioned his butler whom floated beside him. Both of them looked extremely confused.

"I have no idea…"

.

"Hello everyone, we have a really interesting show for you today," Whisper announced with a microphone while sitting at Nate's desk.

"Show for who? Who's watching this!?" Nate questioned his ghostly butler with a confused look on his face.

"Whoever we share the recording with when we're finished," Whisper stated, pointing to the video camera that was set up to film Jibanyan and Grif's competition.

"… So we're really filming this?" Nate just stared at the camera blankly.

"Anyway! This is going to be one interesting showdown, Jibanyan Vs Grif. Both lazy, gluttonous, and messy. But today we'll find out just which one of them is the bigger burden!" Whisper announced eagerly, while Jibanyan and Grif stood near glaring at each other.

"There's still time for you to back out and save yourself some humiliation kid," Grif said firmly, but Jibanyan shook his head.

"No way old-timer! I'm going to show you what I'm capable of!"

"Seriously, what is going on?" Nate muttered in disbelief.

"This event is no doubt going to be intense! Two Loopers, out to prove themselves the superior in their craft," Whisper said, trying to make the competition sound exciting. "Now let's move over to my co-host, for the event order!"

"Wait, co-host? Is it Komasan?" Nate asked confusedly.

"Not even close," what looked to be a little girl added, appearing seemingly from nowhere. Nate jumped a bit at her appearance before glaring at her.

"Hanako-san!? But you're not even a Looper!?"

"Please darling, I don't need to 'get' this time-travel stuff to be involved in events like this. Also, the name's Toiletta, I've never heard of anyone named 'Hanako-san," the human-looking yo-kai said confidently. Nate just stared at her blankly for a couple of seconds.

"… Toiletta? Your name… is Toiletta?"

"Yes," she nodded. The two continued to stare at each other for a couple of seconds before Whisper got between them and pushed them away from each other.

"Now, now. Let's not get all huffy about little details like 'who's a Looper,' or 'who has a ridiculous name.'" Whisper spoke in a calming voice.

"Wait, wha– "Toiletta looked offended but Whisper continued.

"Look, let's just get the show on the road. The event order please, Ms. Toiletta," the ghostly butler gave a polite smile while Nate backed away from both of them. Toiletta sighed before nodding.

"Very well. There will be three events. Gluttony, messiness, and overall laziness. Normally such an event would be best two out of three, but for some reason we're going to do all three events even if the same yo-kai wins twice in a row," Toiletta explained in an uninterested fashion.

"… I thought you wanted to do this," Whisper questioned quietly, looking rather underwhelmed by her disinterested announcement. The female yo-kai glared at him and crossed her arms.

"Perhaps I have just been a little offended. I'll be in the living room if you need me," Toiletta huffed before exiting Nate's room. Nate looked at his door for a moment before looking back to Whisper.

"Well, looks like you're back to a solo performance," the watch-bearer shrugged and Whisper groaned.

"No matter, I can do this without any issue!" Whisper tried to look confident. Nate looked away from Whisper and towards Grif and Jibanyan's position, the two had been awfully quiet…

"Well, it won't be that hard. Your competitors are asleep…"

"Wait, what!?" Whisper shouted before looking at where Nate was and seeing both the nekomata and soldier-turned N'more snoozing, there was even a bubble coming out of Grif's nose. Whisper growled. "WAKE UP! THIS ISN'T THE LAZINESS EVENT! IT'S THE GLUTTONEY EVENT!"

The bubble in Grif's nose popped and both of their eyes slowly opened.

"Wait, what were we doing...?" Jibanyan rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"I think we were fighting…" Grif groaned.

"You're going to have a contest! We're filming it! Show some respect for the art of competition!" Whisper shouted in an angry tone. Nate sighed and shook his head.

.

"Ok, are we ready to start the competition?" Whisper questioned while eyeing the two combatants.

"Oh, you better believe I'm ready! Bring it on gramps!" Jibanyan taunted with fire in his eyes.

"Meh, I'm too lazy to be fired up," Grif shrugged with a yawn… Jibanyan gaped and stared at him in shock.

"Oh, that's going to cost Jibanyan some points!" Whisper announced excitedly.

"But you said this wasn't even the laziness event!" Jibanyan pointed out, swinging his paws frantically.

"That behavior's not going to do his score any favors either," Whisper shook his head disapprovingly. Jibanyan froze and looked like he was trying to think of something to say, but no words came.

"What is happening?" Nate muttered confusedly, Hidabat peeked out of the closet and patted his back.

"The first event is; the Gluttony Event!" Whisper announced proudly, a big, neon sign that read 'Gluttony' hung overhead.

"Where the heck did that come from!?" Nate exclaimed with both disbelief, and irritation in his voice.

"For this event we'll see just how much of their favorite food these two keep handy at any time, and what lengths they take to make sure their supply is always full!" Whisper continued as if he hadn't heard Nate, much to the Anchors frustration.

"Hey! Do we really need to do this in my room!?"

"You think you can beat my obsession with chocolate? Ha!" Jibanyan exclaimed before reaching into his pouch and throwing down about a dozen choco-bars. "I always make sure to keep a good stalk on hand! And– "he reached into his sub-space pocket and pulled out a fridge and threw it on the ground, cracking the wooden boards. "I always keep as much chocolate as I can obtain each Loop, and keep it ready and refrigerated in my pocket!"

"Seriously!? I'm not fixing that!" Nate shouted in irritation.

"And that's not all!" Jibanyan remarked cockily before he was covered in a flash of light, after the light faded he was replaced with his future self: Robonyan. "In the future of baseline and most Loops, I change myself into a cyborg yo-kai. I have Looped in as my future self on more than one occasion and have his form handy, with the ability to– "the robotic nekomata opened his mouth and choco-bars started flowing out. "Produce chocolate bars on demand! Even my UnAwake self sought after chocolate so much that he modified himself to include a chocolate bar factory in his own body! How can you possibly compete with that!?"

Grif looked briefly at Robonyan, then the piles and piles of chocolate bars that had been produced. Before giving a yawn.

"Hm!?" Robonyan's mechanical eyes flashed as he stared at Grif.

"Yeah, that's a lot of chocolate. And a chocolate bar factory in your own body, I'll admit I never thought of that one," despite his words, Grif did not sound very impressed. His eyes narrowed before he spoke more seriously. "But, what have you done to insure you have _all_ the chocolate!?"

"What?" Robonyan questioned in his deep, mechanical voice before Grif continued.

"If you really were going to attempt to gain as much of your favorite snack as possible for any given Loop, there is only one way you can truly do that: Make sure you are the _only_ one to have it!"

"Wait, the only one!?"

"That's right! I go out of my way nearly every Loop oreos exist to make sure I have total control over all oreo factories, gaining all they could possibly produce before shutting them down. Making sure you are the only one to obtain your favorite snack in a Loop is truly the only way you will insure you have as much as you possibly can of it! And until you understand that you can never call yourself a true glutton!"

"I-I. Error! Error!" Robonyan's eyes flashed red and his body shook and smoked. Before a small explosion occurred. Leaving a smoking Jibanyan sitting where Robonyan had been. The small nekomata dizzily groaned, before coughing up one last choco-bar. "He's a glutton of such unimaginable magnitudes… I can't win…"

"And the first event is over! Grif is the victor!" Whisper declared loudly and Grif smirked at his victory.

"Is that really something to be proud of," Nate muttered with a sweatdrop.

"Nate, hasn't Grif given you his oreos before?" Hidabat questioned quietly, from behind him, still in the closet.

"… Yes, yes he has," Nate muttered with a small smile on his face.

"Now then, before we move on to the next event. Let's get a word from my specially chosen co-host! Take it away Komasan!" Whisper explained, still as loud as ever.

"I thought you said Komasan wasn't involved!?" Nate exclaimed, internally feeling like he was starting to get a headache…

"Oh my swirls, I can't believe you picked little 'ole me to be your co-host," Komasan said, seemingly appearing from nowhere to sit next to Whisper.

"Yup, you were my first choice, after all we're friends!" Whisper said with a sweatdrop visible on his face.

" _Sure_ , he was your first choice," Nate muttered while shaking his head. Whisper glared at the human boy briefly.

"I really appreciate this, ice-cream head," Komasan smiled when Whisper looked back at him, the yo-kai butler couldn't help but twitch.

"My name is Whisper…"

"… Oh, right!" Komasan held up a paw at the realization and Whisper face-faulted. "Oh dear, are you hurt?" Whisper got back up and shook his body.

"Never mind that, why don't you just give the forecast for the coming events?" he asked Komasan, wiping some sweat from his head with a handkerchief.

"Forecast...? Well ok…" The white and blue lion-dog looked clueless for a second before glancing out the window. "Oh!" he turned back to face Nate and Hidabat as if they were an audience and made his best impression of a professional news anchorman. "Looks like today we got nice and sunny skies. But y'all better watch out, some nasty clouds look to be rolling in– "

"I DIDN'T MEAN A WEATHER FORCAST!" Whisper shouted at the top of his (possibly non-existent) lungs, causing Komasan to fall over in surprise.

"Oh my swirls…" The little komainu muttered from his position on the ground.

"Calm down Whisper, he's just being Komasan," Nate spoke in the lion-dog's defense to his butler, whom sighed.

"Well, I suppose so… Komasan, could you just say how you think this competition is going to progress?" Whisper questioned. Komasan got back to his feet and shook his head to rid himself of the dizziness he felt before responding.

"Oh… Well…" Komasan glanced between the two competitors. Jibanyan was still seemingly knocked out from his first defeat, while Grif nonchalantly munched on some oreos (and a few of the chocobars Jibanyan had produced as Robonyan…). "… Um, neither one of them seem particularly sportsman-like."

"Well that's all well and good for this kind of competition, whom do you think has the best shot at winning?" Whisper asked with a pleasant grin on his face. Komasan put his paw to his chin as he looked between the two again.

"I really think we should stop this," Nate muttered with a shake of his head. "But of course, nobody will listen to me…"

"… I'll listen to you," Hidabat said quietly from behind her human friend. Nate glanced at the bat-like yo-kai peeking out of the closet before stroking her head with a soft smile.

"I don't know, they both look pretty lazy," Komasan shrugged towards Whisper. Jibanyan groaned and pulled himself back up.

"Oh, you're back," Grif grunted, throwing one of the chocobar wrappers in front of him. Jibanyan looked at it before his eyes widened in horror.

"My chocobars!?" he glared at Grif. "You ate my chocobars!?"

"If they were important to you, you shouldn't have left them on the floor," The simulation trooper-turned yo-kai shrugged uncaringly. The red nekomata seethed with rage and gritted his teeth.

"Oh, it is on nyow! I don't care if you won the first round, I'm beating you!" Jibanyan announced loudly.

"Well then, you better get a move on Jibanyan. It's the messiness event, and Grif's already ahead of you," Whisper noted, pointing towards the oreo crumbs and candy wrappers that surrounded the N'more.

"But those were my chocobars!" Jibanyan exclaimed while holding a wrapper. "This is my mess!"

"Sorry Jibanyan, but you weren't the one whom ate it. So it doesn't count," Whisper shrugged. Jibanyan cried out in panic.

"Great, now they're going to start messing up my room," Nate grunted with his arms crossed.

"Look! I have all these candy wrappers!" Jibanyan exclaimed, dumping a large number of wrappers from his pocket and rolling around in it. "See! I'm such a slob!"

"Hmm… Grif?" Whisper questioned while looking to Jibanyan's opponent. Grif yawned.

"Candy wrappers? That all you've got?" Grif questioned, before a large amount of food wrappers, and dirty laundry got dumped into the room from Grif's sub-space pocket.

"Seriously!?" Nate cried out, Hidabat ducked into the closet; offended by the smell.

"Yeah, I'm going to get around to washing this stuff and throwing those old wrappers out… eventually," Grif shrugged while Jibanyan just stared with a blank expression on his face.

"Well, I think it's pretty clear whom the winner of the messiness event is. But just in case, any comments Jibanyan?" Whisper asked, looking towards the stunned cat yo-kai.

"… The smell… is awful," Jibanyan muttered quietly. Whisper nodded with a smile before turning back to Grif.

"Congratulations Grif, you've won the second event."

"Whatever," Grif yawned uncaringly.

"Wow, that stinks worse than a dead junebug in the middle of summer," Komasan said with his paw on his nose.

"What does that even mean?" Nate asked blankly.

"Grif may have won two out of three events, but this next one will decide the winner. The most important event! The laziness event!" Whisper announced excitedly.

"Isn't it usually best two out of three? If you were just going to decide from the last event what was even the point of the first two!?" Nate exclaimed in both confusion in frustration, but he was–once again–ignored.

"I won't lose!" Jibanyan hissed with fire in his eyes. Grif still seemed disinterested.

.

"Well, this competition has certainly been thrilling so far! Wouldn't you say so, Komasan?" Whisper questioned while turning to his co-host. Komasan looked to the 'audience' of Nate and Hidabat with an unsure expression.

"… Um… Yes?"

"Of course it has!" Whisper exclaimed before pulling up some papers. "In a stunning turn of events, Grif has flawlessly blown through the first two events of the competition, leaving Jibanyan in the dust!"

"I'm not stunned, I'm just annoyed," Nate huffed with his arms crossed.

"I'm here for you, my friend," Hidabat said, quietly. Nate nodded and patted her head again.

"You are my best friend in the world right now, Hida," the Anchor sighed with a soft smile.

"I try," Hidabat nodded as she enjoyed the affectionate contact.

"Ahem!" Whisper fake-coughed to catch the 'audience's' attention again before he continued. "I'm sure you're all excited for the main, and final event! The laziness event!"

"As long as it gets this done with and out of my room," Nate shook his head in disapproval.

"Laziness is a cat's truest talent! There is no way I can lose! Not now! Not after my humiliation!" Jibanyan roared with fire in his eyes.

"Wow! Jibanyan's fired up once more! And just like last time: that's going to cost him some points!" Whisper announced cheerfully, Jibanyan facefaulted.

"Would you stop doing that!" The cat yo-kai shouted in anger. Whisper shook his head disapprovingly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, he just doesn't learn, does he?"

"Are you talking to them or me?" Komasan questioned confusedly. Whisper glared intensely at Komasan whom got a little nervous. "Um… Maybe I should go, Komajiro said we should spend a Loop exploring new places… Maybe this is the Loop to do that, I've been thinking about visiting Greece," Komasan muttered a bit as he backed away from the ghostly butler, whom was still glaring at him. "I'll um, just let myself out. Don't worry about me, I know my way around the city by now," Komasan left Nate's door and carefully closed it behind him.

"Congratulations on scaring away your co-host," Nate scoffed. Whisper growled.

"He was an incompetent! He had no idea what he was doing! It's a good thing he's gone, now I can focus on my part without his distractions. He wasn't needed anyway!" Whisper huffed.

"Weren't you the one who brought him?" Hidabat questioned quietly. It didn't seem like Whisper had even heard her, or if he did he just planned on ignoring her.

"But now's not the time to mourn lost causes, now's the time for action! Or should I say; inaction!" he looked to Jibanyan and Grif, the former glaring at him while the latter didn't seem to be paying attention, again… "Are you ready for the last event, gentlemen?"

"Ready! Er, I mean," Jibanyan rolled onto his back and yawned. "Ready… I guess…"

"Whatever…" Grif shrugged uncaringly.

"Great! I like those attitudes, this is going to be a tough one! I can feel it!" Whisper exclaimed excitedly, though the 'audience' clearly didn't share his enthusiasm.

"Just get this over with," Nate groaned while rubbing his forehead.

"We could all do without the attitude Nate," Whisper shook his head/body, before continuing his announcer-roll. "This contest is simple! Whomever can demonstrate the greatest feats of laziness, both from past experience and current activity levels, wins, thus that winner will be champion! Are we ready!?" both Jibanyan and Grif simply grunted in response. "Go!"

"Well this won't be interesting at all…" Nate sighed and Hidabat nodded. Jibanyan lay on his back, occasionally shifting around a bit, while Grif seemed to be sleeping, in the same position he had started in…

"… I'll have you knyow that I'm the laziest cat around, I mostly just lay around this house all day. I've got you beat," Jibanyan said confidently.

"Don't you go and try to fight trucks and go crazy over some girl band?" Grif questioned without looking at Jibanyan; said cat yo-kai stiffened a bit.

"W-well, you fill your team's guns with bullets when you do missions in your world, so– "

"That? I never remember to do that! I just wait around for Simmons to do it for me," Grif pointed out with a shake of his head.

"Um… but, I um– "

"You modified yourself into a robot in the future. That doesn't seem very lazy."

"I… uh…"

"I've got many ways to avoid work, and I really don't go searching for it. You lie around the house, but you're clearly not really lazy. I marked myself as all religions in my military application so that I could get more days off. And even when Sarge does manage to get me to do something I put as little effort into it as possible," Grif crossed his arms and nodded as Jibanyan stared at him, getting to his feet and shaking a little.

"Well um… I'm still lazy! I, um…"

"You just got up, I haven't moved from this spot since this started," Grif pointed out with a yawn. "You know, it's easier to avoid work in the winter months. I can just build a snowman and hide inside, nobody usually finds me until the snow starts melting."

"Hiding… in a snowman all winter?" Jibanyan was now sweating a little.

"Why a snowman? Why not just a pile of snow?" Nate asked Hidabat whom shrugged.

"His laziness is at another level entirely! I thought I was lazy, but him… It's too much, I can't compare!" Jibanyan fell to his knees as he stared at Grif. Nate looked a little concerned.

"I think he just got his mind blown… I hope Jibanyan doesn't do anything cra– "

"Master! Teach me!" Jibanyan bowed to Grif as respectfully as he could.

"WHAT!?" Nate, Whisper and even Hidabat exclaimed in shock.

"Teach you?" Grif raised a brow in confusion at the nekomata's request.

"I want to learn your ways master! Please let me become your disciple! You are truly on another level than I!" Jibanyan pleaded with his front paws clasped together.

"Hmm…" Grif hummed as he tapped his chin.

"You're not actually considering this!? Are you!?" Nate asked his adopted-brother incredulously.

"He'd better not be! I don't need Grif teaching anyone else his ways! I don't even think Yggdrasil could handle that much sheer terribleness," an angry voice with a bit of an accent shouted from nearby. Nate blinked before looking into the corner of his room and focusing, until he could make out a red snake-like yo-kai.

"Sarge!?"

"That's right dirtbag! And I've been looking all over for this AWOL sorry-excuse for a soldier!" Sarge hissed as he slithered over to Grif and glared at him.

"Seriously Sarge? Look we're not soldiers here! We're spirits, we can do whatever we want," Grif pointed out, but Sarge wasn't having any of it.

"Shut it!" he whacked Grif with his fan-tail. "Just because I can't hold my shotgun doesn't mean you can just ignore my commands! Now drop and give me fifty!"

"Hey! You can't talk to Master Grif like that!" Jibanyan hissed.

"Actually, he can," another voice interjected, the occupants looked over to the window, which was open and watched as a similar looking yo-kai to the one Sarge had taken the form of slithered into the room. Though this one was a somewhat grayish blue. "Well, he can because it doesn't really matter what you say to him, he's still going to do it… because he's Sarge."

"Sarge is Copperled and Church is Cynake? Why is that so fitting?" Nate muttered while scratching his head. "Are any of the others here?"

"Not important! What is important is that this insubordinate soldier is going to be punished! ASAP!" Sarge exclaimed, before he hit Grif with his tail and knocked him across the room and out the window.

"CRAP!" Grif shouted before the sound of him hitting concrete echoed.

"Master! Wait, I still have much to learn from you!" Jibanyan shouted before he jumped after Grif.

"Yeah, this isn't that weird for me," Church sighed while shaking his head, Whisper didn't look like he had anything to say. Nate just massaged his head before throwing his arms in the air.

"Done. Do whatever, I'm going to go watch TV," the Anchor grunted before he exited his room and found his way to the living room and began watching whatever was currently on. The sound of flushing was heard before he spotted Toiletta, hovering out of the bathroom and looking his way.

"Just so you know; your toilet's clogged," she stated uncaringly. Nate blankly stared at her for a few seconds.

"… Get out of my house ghost girl!" he exclaimed while pointing towards the front door.

"Whatever," Toiletta shrugged… before returning to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Nate stared at the door as the sound of flushing echoed once more… before a dripping wet Toiletta exited the bathroom.

"Right, clogged," she muttered before floating over to and fazing through the front door. Nate rubbed his forehead and sighed before he returned to watching TV, he could hear some kind of argument going on upstairs, so he turned the volume up...

 **4.4**

"Wait… Where are we?" Fumi questioned as she looked around in surprise, noticing she was outfitted in some sort of blue armor and had a pistol.

"A boxed canyon in the middle of nowhere," a familiar voice answered her and she looked over to see a red armored person walking over to her.

"Keita-kun?" the girl was surprised at the sight of her Anchor, and his attire. She looked around some more and confirmed that they were in some kind of canyon.

"Hello!" another blue armored soldier popped up in front of Fumi, startling her.

"Ah!" she yelped and jumped back.

"Hi Caboose," Keita nodded to the new arrival, not looking at all surprised at his sudden intrusion.

"Hello Keita-Nate. What are you doing here? And who is this girl… she screams loudly."

"I do not!" Fumi protested angrily.

"Yeah, you kind of do," Keita muttered.

"Keita!"

"Just being honest," Keita shrugged, he looked to Caboose before speaking again. "Grif is Awake and Ruby's replacing Simmons, I'm replacing Donut. Sarge isn't Awake and is agonizing over being surrounded by 'Grifs,'" Keita chuckled a bit at that last part.

"Hmm… Yes. That is very interesting…" Caboose nodded absentmindedly.

"Wait, where are we, and what are we doing here?" Fumi questioned, feeling a little annoyed at being ignored.

"Um excuse me, but it's 'why we're here,'" Caboose insisted and Fumi growled.

"As I already said: 'a boxed canyon in the middle of nowhere.' Just look over your memories, that should answer your questions, and tell you how to properly hold a gun," Keita chuckled while patting his friend's shoulder. Fumi looked embarrassed when she noticed she was holding the pistol upside down.

"Right… my memories," she nodded a little unsure. Keita nodded back, before looking at Caboose.

"So, considering you're in good spirits I assume nobody's taken Church's place."

"Yes! Church is here and everything is good!" the local Anchor happily confirmed Keita's suspicions.

"So, I guess Fumi here replaced Tucker."

"Yup, that is another thing that's good!" Caboose nodded.

"Who's Tucker?" Fumi asked curiously, Keita glanced at her for a moment.

"… I'll tell you about him later. Hey, want to meet my siblings?"

.

"So, we're on the Blue team, and you're the Red team? And we're at war?" Fumi questioned after she finished reviewing her memories as she followed Keita to the Red base.

"Kind of. But it's not a real war, it's more of a simulation… Where you can die," Fumi gulped at that part and Keita snorted. "Oh relax, it's not like death really matters to us." The flippancy of this statement almost caused Fumi to stop in her tracks.

"Keita-kun, how… how can you say something like that so calmly?"

"Fumi?" the Anchor glanced back at his friend, seeming a little surprised by her tone.

"How can you say things like 'death doesn't matter to us'!?" Fumi asked, a disbelieving look under her helmet's visor. Keita stopped in his tracks and turned to face Fumi fully.

"… Right… I forgot," he shook his head and sighed. "Sorry Katie… Fumi… I forgot you're a lot newer to this than me, though you've been Looping for a little while you still haven't gotten used to everything."

"Is… is death really no big deal to you?" Fumi questioned. Keita looked ahead for a moment before sighing again.

"Fumi-chan, just be weary. This is your first Loop out of our home town, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Oh geez… Well, I'll watch your back, so don't worry," Keita insisted with a nod before they kept moving, Fumi was unsure of what exactly her friend meant by that but decided to keep following him. "Grif!" Keita called ahead, when a gunshot suddenly zoomed over the two visiting Looper's heads.

"Someone just shot at us!" Fumi shouted in shock.

"Take that you dirty Blue! You think you can try and invade our base just like that? And a one-man army? I respect your moxy. But a blue's gotta die!" The red armored figure shouted while pointing his shotgun straight towards Fumi's head.

"Keita-kun he's going to kill us!" Fumi shouted fearfully and Keita took a ready stance.

"Sarge, knock it off!" another voice shouted, before an orange armored soldier came over.

"I don't take orders from you dirtbag," Sarge huffed while he kept his shotgun at the ready. Keita blinked under his helmet before shaking his head.

"Sarge, are you Awake!?" Keita called over.

"Who wants to know!?"

"Yes! He Woke up a few minutes after you left!" Grif confirmed right before Sarge struck him with the end of his shotgun. "OW! What the hell was that for!?"

"Insubordination!"

"Geez. Fumi, I've told you of my brother Grif and his… associate Sarge," Keita gestured to the two while Fumi didn't look sure of what to say. "Ruby's probably inside, and once Yang shows up you can meet my whole Looping family… except Cinder…" Keita muttered that last part quietly with a shudder.

"Wait, what's wrong with Cinder?" Fumi asked curiously.

"Er, never mind! Let's get inside!" Keita exclaimed quickly, pushing Fumi inside.

"Hey! Don't you dare let that dirty blue into my base son!" Sarge shouted angrily, he was ignored.

.

"Hey there!" Ruby waved, in a set of crimson armor without a helmet on.

"So… you're Ruby?" Fumi extended her hand to the girl whom shook it eagerly.

"Yup! That's my name! Ruby Rose, Anchor of Remnant! And big sister extraordinaire!" she wrapped an arm around Keita's shoulder as he took off his helmet.

"I think that last one more describes Yang," Keita said with a small smirk on his face, Ruby glared at him lightly before pushing him away.

"Keita! You break my heart! After all I had done for you!? What did I do to deserve such rudeness and disrespect from my beloved little brother!?" Ruby cried out dramatically, Fumi sweatdropped at this. Keita chuckled a little, shortly followed by Ruby whom helped him back up.

"Okay, enough of that. I think your scaring the girl," Grif shook his head as he entered.

"Oh, lighten up, Dexter, we were just having a little fun," Ruby laughed.

"Don't worry, its fine," Fumi said with a good-natured smile. "So, your name is Grif, right?" Grif nodded, before Fumi continued. "… Which is spelled with two F's," Grif stared at Fumi, before looking over at Keita and Ruby, whom looked like they were trying not to laugh. "… Keita-kun was very insistent about that second F."

"Okay, seriously?! Keita! Get over here!"

"Nope!" Keita smirked, before running off in a blur. Grif growled, before following after him, Ruby laughing all the while.

"… Did I say something wrong?" Fumi questioned with a confused look on her face.

"Don't worry about it. Brothers, you know?" Ruby asked with a light-hearted smile.

"Um, no actually," Fumi admitted.

"… Oh," Ruby blinked, an awkward silence filling the Red base. "Um… So how long have you known my brother?"

"Well, a long time I guess, we were good friends in Baseline," Fumi admitted with a small smile, before a thought occurred to her and her smile slowly turned to a frown. "But… You know… I'm starting to realize how little I actually knew about him, with the watch, the yo-kai, everything…" She glanced in the direction her friend had left and sighed "Even now… he's so different. He doesn't seem like the Keita-kun, or Nate, I remember…"

"Well… that's to be expected," Ruby gave the other girl an assuring smile. "He has been Looping for a long time, and he's an Anchor, which means he has more Loops than a standard Looper on average. He's going to be different after all that time, but you just have to remember; he's still your friend. The reason you're Looping is probably because of how important you are to him," Fumi thought about what Ruby said, her smile returning after a moment.

"What did I say about Blues in the base!?" Sarge bellowed as he stomped in. "I thought I made myself clear about– "

"Sarge! Shut up!" Ruby hissed as she glared at the native Looper. "Could you lighten up on that for at least a little bit!? Fumi here's pretty new to Looping, she doesn't need you yelling at her on top of everything else!"

"… Alright fine, where's that no-good Grif and your other brother anyway?" Sarge questioned, leaving the room before Ruby could answer. The Anchor of Remnant rolled her eyes.

"You must excuse Sarge, he's not _that_ bad once you get to know him."

"I'll take your word for it…"

.

Fumi hung around Blue base, not sure what she was supposed to be doing right now. Keita had said he'd come talk to her again later, and that she should try to get to know the Blues while she was on their team, but…

"Hey! Girl-Tucker!" Fumi twitched when she heard Caboose calling her.

"Caboose, I said my name was Fumi… and I'm right next to you, you don't need to yell," she sighed as she turned to the blue armored soldier.

"Okay! I'll stop yelling! Starting… Now! Sorry, I'm still yelling! I'll stop…" Fumi groaned as Caboose stayed silent for a few more moments, before finally speaking in a very quiet voice. "Now."

"… Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Fumi nearly fell over at the local Anchor's sudden exclamation.

"So, getting used to everything around here?" Church asked as he walked over. Fumi straightened her posture and looked at him cautiously.

"I guess… What exactly are we supposed to be doing?"

"Not much, when we're all Awake like this we mostly just wait around for Tex to show up, then we go from there depending on if she's Awake or not," Church answered simply. "That reminds me, it'll be getting to the time to call for backup soon…"

"Oh… Who's Tex?"

.

"So, Yang said she'd be showing up before Sister does normally?" Keita asked Ruby as they both sat in the kitchen of the Red base.

"She's getting here as fast as she can, been a little while since we've all been together and she doesn't want to waste it," Ruby explained with a smile.

"Good, I have an idea but for it to work I need Yang's help!" at Keita's exclamation Ruby narrowed her eyes.

"What exactly are you up to?"

"Nothing bad…"

"… Okay," Ruby shrugged before getting up and opening a cabinet.

"You believe me? Just like that?"

"Oh, I don't believe you, not at all, but I figure; you've got an idea, let's see where it goes," Ruby pulled a bag of chocolate chip cookies from the cabinet. "I know I've done some morally questionable things during my time in the Loops, and if you need Yang to agree to help you, it can't be that bad," she took a bite of one of the cookies, and immediately spit it out. "Stale!?"

"Why would you even take cookies from the cabinets? Don't you have tons stored in your pocket?"

"Doesn't mean I won't take a chance to get more," Ruby huffed as she threw the box of cookies onto the ground. "I should've know not to trust box cookies in a cabinet…"

"… Do you want me to bake you some cookies?"

"Yes please!"

"There will be no baking cookies in this base!" Sarge suddenly interrupted, holding his shotgun threateningly.

"What!? Come on!" Ruby groaned while Keita shook his head.

"I don't need you girlying up my base with baking!"

"Baking's not girly," Keita huffed with his arms crossed, Ruby patted his back in an assuring way. "I spent several whole Loops on baking classes…"

"Wait, so that's where you were those Loops Whisper said he couldn't find you," Grif interjected, walking in with an opened pack of oreos in hand.

"No, he knew what I was doing in the one's of those he was Awake, when he couldn't find me I was doing… something else," Keita scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Well… That's not suspicious," Ruby muttered with a shake of her head. Keita sweatdropped and Grif facepalmed. "Does this have anything to do with that 'plan' you need Yang for?"

"… a little."

"Tex estará apareciendo pronto, no deberíamos estar preparando en caso de que no esté despierta? {Tex will be showing up soon, shouldn't we be preparing incase she's not Awake?}" Lopez asked as he entered the room.

"See! Lopez agrees with me; baking is not something a man should waste his time on!" Sarge asserted, the other current members of Red team groaned.

"Sarge. O aprende. Español! {Sarge. Learn. Spanish!}"

.

"So… if you're not really fighting with the Reds anymore, why are you calling for reinforcements?" Fumi questioned as Church finished his radio transmission.

"Because, if we don't and Tex isn't Awake, she most likely won't show up," he stated as he led the younger Looper back to the base.

"I suppose that makes sense… sticking to Baseline enough so important events happen while still trying to live your own life can be hard I suppose…" Fumi muttered with a thoughtful expression, hidden by her helmet.

"Yeah, I guess," Church shrugged. "We find ways to cope, we all have our hobbies… Or obsessions… Surely you have something to do to keep yourself from going stir crazy back in your home Branch?"

"Er… I actually never gave that much thought," Fumi admitted, looking a little embarrassed at this admittance.

"What? You haven't come up with anything?"

"Well… I haven't exactly been doing this for very long, and finding the weird stuff in my home that's always been there but I've never noticed kind of keeps me from getting stir crazy…" Fumi sighed. "I mean, I'm not like Keita-kun, Whisper, Jibanyan, or the others. I was clueless about so much before I started Looping… it's kind of pathetic how much I didn't know about my friend actually…" she drooped a bit further.

"Please don't do that," Church sighed while shaking his head, Fumi looked at him with a little confusion before he continued. "Don't go all mopey about your Baseline self. So, you didn't know everything about your friend? So, you didn't know there were spirits all around you influencing you and others whenever?" he shook his head as Fumi kept her gaze on him. "Don't get me wrong, that kind of sucks how out of loop you were before you… Looped…" silence filled the air for a moment before Church coughed. "Okay, that was terrible, sorry…"

"No, it's fine, continue," Fumi assured before the local Looper returned to what he was saying.

"Thank you, anyway it's not really something to mope about, you know more now. I remember when I thought I was human, man how ignorant I was," Church shook his head at that thought, though Fumi just looked confused.

"Wait… you're not human?"

"… Did Keita seriously not tell you that?"

"I'm not sure, he might have and I could've forgotten," Fumi sighed, Church facepalmed.

"Okay, whatever, it's not important! What is important is that you stop worrying about how much you didn't know and start focusing on what you can learn now, the Loops are a practically endless opportunity, take advantage of it," Church explained, sounding a little irritated still. Fumi took in what he told her and thought about it carefully.

"I suppose you're right… I mean Baseline is Baseline, but as Keita-kun has made clear to me before, that's not exactly us anymore… I mean it is _us_ , but not entirely… um," Fumi looked troubled as she tried to think of what else to say, but Church held up his hand for her to stop.

"Look, I get it. You don't have to explain something to me that I figured out eons ago."

"Oh… right," Fumi nodded before going silent, not sure of what else to talk about.

"Hey! Church! Girl-Tucker! What are you guys talking about!?" Caboose called from the ground, Fumi twitched a little.

"When will he stop calling me girl-Tucker? I told him my name is Fumi, or Katie, a ton of times," Fumi sighed in irritation.

"Don't worry about it, he doesn't know you yet. Eventually he'll come to see you as your own person and stop with the whole 'girl-Tucker' thing. He has a very simple personality and all the pieces just need to fit, for now you're a substitute piece for Tucker, but eventually you'll have your own place to fit into in his mind and become your own piece," Church explained rationally.

"Huh, that makes me feel a little better I guess," Fumi smiled a little.

"I mean, probably… I was kind of just spouting off gibberish there," Church admitted with a shrug. Fumi glared at him briefly before sighing.

"You know, you're really not much help emotionally…"

"You _sure_ Keita told you about us?"

.

After the Freelancer known as Tex had shown up, Fumi had been introduced to her, and decided quickly to keep some distance. It wasn't that she thought Tex was going to hurt her, it was just that… she had an air to her that made Fumi a little… uncomfortable?

"Caboose, do you ever get scared without knowing why?" Fumi questioned the local Anchor as she approached him, she could see Tex and Church speaking a small distance away.

"Oh yeah, lots of times. Like whenever Church isn't here… those are scary," Caboose nodded.

"Yeah… So, Tex seems… nice," Fumi muttered, Caboose nodded.

"Yup, sometimes, but she doesn't really like me," he stated simply. Fumi gave him an odd look.

"Really? I didn't get that vibe from her."

"Yeah, she's a girl… girls don't like me," Caboose reasoned calmly.

"That doesn't seem like a reason someone wouldn't like you. after all, I like you," Fumi offered softly.

"Thanks girl-Tucket, yeah I like me too, girls just don't…" Caboose said without changing his tone, Fumi stared at him blankly.

"… You know I'm a girl, right? I mean, you keep calling me 'girl-Tucker'," Fumi pointed out in confusion.

"Yeah, and Tucker isn't a girl," Caboose said, seemingly without realizing any contradiction existed. The foreign Looper raised a finger as she tried to think of what to say next, but nothing came to mind.

"Don't worry about him, he'll catch on eventually," Tex said coming over, Fumi jumped a little at the sudden intrusion.

"Oh, hey Tex! When did you get here!?" Caboose happily called out to her with a wave, Tex waved back to him in subdued manner. Fumi just stood there with a look of confusion on her face.

"Um… yeah… I think Keita said his other sister will be showing up soon, he'll probably want me to meet her," Fumi said weakly before shuffling off towards Red base.

"… She's scared of me," Tex stated to Church as he came up behind her, a neutral tone to her voice.

"Nah, I think she's just a little intimidated. I've been to Keita's home Loop, things are usually a lot more harmless over there… wacky spirits notwithstanding," the Alpha A.I explained calmly.

"Spirits, like ghosts? Like the one you became… Church, are you a yo-kai?" Caboose questioned blankly.

"… No Caboose, I am not a yo-kai."

"Oh, good! Because if you _were_ a yo-kai, I would be questioning why you hadn't given your _best_ friend your medal yet."

"Well I don't have a medal, so you don't need to be concerned about that."

"What is this conversation?" Tex questioned incredulously.

.

"They are really confusing, Keita-kun. I mean, I know they're your friends, but I just can't wrap my head around this stuff," Fumi sighed, sitting beside Keita in Red Base.

"Yeah, it all seemed crazy to me the first time I came here too, but once you've been Looping for a few thousand years and experienced plenty of fused Loops this collection of characters doesn't seem that extreme," Keita said with a light chuckle, his friend gave him a look.

"You're not helping…"

"Fumi, trust me. They may seem crazy, but you know, Looping makes people a little crazy. I'm no exception either. Just be prepared, the Loop may seem pointless and crazy right now, but we're going to get into some major warfare soon, hopefully we can keep it to a level you can handle, but I just want you to know things aren't going to stay silly," Keita explained with a serious look on his face, Fumi was a bit taken aback.

"Oh... Serious huh? with these guys' personalities I can't help but find that a little hard to believe…"

"Well, okay, the silliness won't just disappear, but you need to be ready."

"No, I get it. I believe you Keita-kun, you wouldn't lie to me about something like that. This has all just been very… overwhelming for me, and that you seem to be taking it all in stride is kind of unnerving…"

"It'll all fall into place Fumi, don't worry. You're just feeling a little… out of place! Yeah, once you find your niche in all of this, it'll definitely start making more sense!"

"I sure hope you're right…"

"I know I am… now come on! Yang's transmission said that she'd be showing up any minute now, we need to be on the lookout for her ship," Keita said as he grabbed hold of Fumi's shoulder and pulled her along to meet with Grif, Sarge, and Ruby. "You know, so it doesn't land on anyone."

"I'm sorry, is that a risk?" Fumi questioned blankly.

"It happened in Baseline, it's just best to be careful," Grif stated calmly.

"I was robbed of a decent burial!" Sarge grunted angrily.

"You weren't the one hit, Sarge," Grif countered bluntly, only to be hit by the blunt end of Sarge's shotgun… bluntly.

"Shut up Dirtbag! I was talking about that stupid funeral you all put together for me after your sister came!"

"Wait, what?" Fumi blinked in confusion.

"It's not important Fumi, Yang should be here soon. I know she's excited to meet you," Ruby smiled to the younger girl.

"Really?"

"Ever since I told them you were Looping, my siblings have been waiting for an opportunity to meet you Fumi-chan, you've now met Grif and Ruby, but I think Yang was most looking forward to it," Keita explained to his friend kindly.

"Well… I hope I can make a good impression," Fumi smiled, a little nervously.

"Don't worry, you already have," Ruby chuckled a little and Grif nodded. Sarge was glaring at the sky, Keita noticed this and looked up at what he was glaring at, only to see a glowing, yellow dot in the sky… getting bigger…

"Guys, incoming!" Keita exclaimed, backing up, everyone else did the same, what seemed to be a small, glowing yellow meteor crashed several meters in front of them, creating a large crater in its wake. Smoke covered the area for a moment before a figure became clear, someone wearing similar armor to the other soldiers, only this one's was yellow and orange, with sun symbols painted on the shoulders.

"Hello Bloodgulch!" the newcomer exclaimed excitedly, dusting herself off as she approached the group.

"Yang… where's your ship?" Keita asked after a moment.

"Ship? I never said I was taking a ship, I just said I'd be there soon!" Yang laughed.

"Right, of course you did…" Grif muttered while shaking his head.

"Girl! Seriously, what's the big idea with just flying down like some sort of rogue missile intent on our destruction!? Not that there's anything wrong with missiles mind you! Though I prefer a weapon you can stand face to face against your enemy with, like a shotgun," Sarge ranted, and seemed to drift further and further away from reality as he continued talking about his preferred use of weapons. The three of them snuck back to base while he did so…

.

"So, you're this Fumi, or Katie, that I've been hearing so much about from my bro?" Yang asked after they had made it back to the base, Grif, Ruby and Lopez stood back and watched as Yang spoke with the younger Looper, Keita stood beside Fumi and was watch his eldest sister with a critical look.

"Yeah, that's me," Fumi nodded. "You're Yang, you're the one who told Keita-kun about the Loops in the first place?"

"That's right, this little guy was lost and I took him under my wing and made him the man he is today!" Yang explained proudly as she tried to ruffle her younger brother's hair, he swatted her hand away while glaring at her causing her to laugh. "Now then…"

"Yang, please don't hassle her," Keita warned, Yang waved off his concerns.

"Don't worry Keita, I just want to get to know her a little," Yang insisted, before turning her attention back towards Fumi. "So, I gotta ask, what exactly are your intensions towards my little brother?" she asked with a dangerous smirk forming on her face. Fumi shrunk back a little nervously.

"Yang…" Keita sighed in embarrassment.

"We're just friends… um, ma'am?" Fumi muttered weakly, Yang laughed at this and patted her on the shoulder.

"'Ma'am'? That's a little too formal, don't you think? No need to be so nervous, any friend of my baby bro's is a friend of mine!"

"Don't call me a baby!"

"But you are my baby bro!" Yang exclaimed, grabbing Keita in a hug that he struggled to escape from–and failed.

"Yang! Let go!"

"But you're so cute!" after another minute of hugging, Yang finally let Keita go. He smoothed out his clothes before looking towards her again.

"I told you not to do that…" he shook his head, before a thought seemed to occur to him. "Oh yah, Yang, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Nate, whatch'a need?"

"Can I have a pair of your gauntlets?" Keita asked, an ambitious smile appearing on his face.

"What? Why?" Yang looked at her younger brother suspiciously.

"Um… for a project?" he offered weakly, Yang narrowed her eyes at him, but after a moment a smirk formed on her face.

"Okay, on one condition."

"What?"

"You must do something awesome with these!" Yang grinned manically as she handed Keita a copy of her weapons from her pocket. Keita took the yellow gauntlets eagerly and nodded to her.

"I won't let you down sis!" Keita announced before putting the gauntlets into his own pocket for later use.

"Should we be concerned about that?" Ruby questioned Grif as they stood at the other end of the room.

"I'm concerned about what's going to happen next," Fumi sighed as she walked over to the two.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll make it fun… as much as we can that is," Ruby glanced towards Grif whom shrugged.

"Deberías tener mucho miedo. {You should be very afraid.}" Lopez stated bluntly, though Fumi could not understand him.

 **Next Loop…**

Katie's eyes narrowed as she aimed her weapon, she lined up the shot and...

"… Now!" she exclaimed, pulling the trigger and causing water to shoot from the squirt gun, it hit a bird that was flying by, startling it before it flew further away.

"Katie, why are you scaring birds?" Nate questioned as he walked over to her.

"Practicing, I have no idea when I might end up in that place or somewhere similar again, I want to be more prepared next time," Katie said firmly as she took aim at another flying bird.

"… So, you're shooting water at birds?" Nate stared at his friend for a moment, but she maintained her position.

"Well, it wouldn't exactly be a good idea to practice with a real gun around here, so I'm doing this," she explained simply.

"Well, if that's what you want to do right now, I mean the Meta is scary… I remember the first time I saw it," Nate sighed while scratching his head. Katie fired another shot of water and nodded.

"… Say, what do you plan to do with those gauntlets your sister gave you anyway?" Katie asked curiously, Nate chuckled a little.

"It's a surprise Katie, you'll see."

"… That's not a very satisfying answer."

"It's not supposed to be."

"Whatever, so what can I expect in other branches after that insanity?"

"Oh, where do I start?"

 **4.5**

Another day, another simple Baseline run. Seeing as there wouldn't be much going on for the beginning of the Loop, after getting Whisper out of the Crank-a-Kai and getting Jibanyan off the street, Nate had decided to show Katie, whom seemed to be the only other person Awake right now, some DVD's of their baseline.

The two sat in front of a TV (that Nate had pulled from his pocket) in Nate's room, they had just finished the Wazzat episode and the DVD was set to play the next one after the credits finished.

"Wait, so this cartoon is telling our future!?" Whisper questioned in shock, Jibanyan was just lazing around without care.

"I told you Whisper, time is repeating and this is just a backup of our Baseline… Well, one variant. I'll put on the subs after these," Nate shrugged and Whisper still looked confused. "I'd wish you'd Wake up already."

"What? I am awake!"

"That's not what I mean, never mind," Nate sighed while the opening theme for the next episode began. Katie had been sitting there with a thoughtful, yet frustrated look on her face for a few moments before she turned to Nate, looking a little angry.

"Nate, you erased my memory!?"

"No, Wazzat erased your memory," Nate corrected while shrugging. Katie didn't seem satisfied with that response, if anything it just made her angrier.

"But you didn't do anything to stop it! You were happy with it!"

"Hey don't blame me. That was Baseline Nate, he's an idiot," Nate scoffed while Katie just rubbed her forehead to alleviate some of her frustration.

"Seriously Nate," she groaned and her friend sighed.

"Look I'm sorry, but that was so long ago for me. In most repeats it doesn't even happen, unless I Wake up later," Nate explained as best he could, Katie was still frowning but didn't look as upset.

"I guess it's not a big deal… I mean, I don't even remember it," Katie muttered with a shake of her head.

"Wazzat is very good at what he does," Nate chuckled and Katie gave him an annoyed glare. "I know, I know. I really am sorry about that though, can we just keep watching?"

"… Yeah, I guess," Katie smiled a little as they focused back on the screen. "Besides, most of this is going to be about your screw-ups, so I can get a few laughs." She chuckled and Nate responded with a deadpan look.

"Very funny," he shook his head as they continued watching. Whisper scratched his head in confusion and Jibanyan munched on a chocolate bar.

 **4.6 GammaTron**

"Hey, Grif? Did anyone respond on your radio this Loop?" Keita asked his Loop-Brother, the orange-wearing soldier Looping in as his older brother once more.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Grif shrugged, looking at the clouds.

"Who was it?"

"Sarge. He said 'Don't bother me this Loop. I have an idiot to train,'" Grif shrugged.

"Huh?" Keita blinked twice.

"Y'ALL CALL YERSELF RED?!"

*BOOM!*

"Gomen nassai!" Aka Oni screamed as he fled from the human in red armor chasing after him in a tank painted red.

"Y'ALL ARE RED! Y'ALL AIN'T SUPPOSED T' BE WEAKER THAN A BLUE!" Sarge snapped, firing once more, "KEEP ON MOVIN', SOLDIER! WE AIN'T STOPPIN' 'TILL Y'ALL CAN BEAT THAT THERE BLUE OR Y'ALL ARE DEADER THAN DEAD!"

"But I'm a Yokai! I'm already dead!"

"THEN AH'LL MAKE Y'ALL SUPER DEAD!"

*BOOM!*

"That doesn't seem physically possible!" Aka Oni cried.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

"YOU DO NOT QUESTION YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER!"

Kuro Oni and Ao Oni shared looks as they watched Aka Oni fleeing from the human that managed to get them-self into Oni Time with a tank that had anti-Yokai ammunition. Kuro Oni looked at the throne behind them, the bronze Yamabuki Oni munching on a giant bucket of popcorn while taping the sight.

"(Despite that idiot not knowing Spanish, this is one of the more enjoyable things I like about Sarge)," Yamabuki Oni noted in Spanish.

"Eh, I'm sure he's fine," Grif shrugged.

 **4.7**

It was turning out to be typical game variant for Katie, well one where she got the watch. Which was somewhat common, though not as common as Nate getting it. But neither Nate, Jibanyan or Whisper were Awake, and with no pings Katie concluded that Komasan and Komajiro were not either. There must have been a stealth Anchor.

"Hasn't been too tough so far, I can handle this on my own," Katie nodded to herself as she prepared to leave her house, Baku having assumed her form in bed.

"What was that Katie? You can handle what?" the unAwake Whisper questioned confusedly. The young girl chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

"Nothing Whisper. I just think we can handle anything that comes our way if we work together!" Whisper smiled with a bit of pride at that statement, but then frowned a little.

"Yeah… But still, I'm not too thrilled about having to retrieve a lost pair of underwear," the ghostly butler sighed. Katie repressed a shudder and shook her head.

"Never mind that," Katie sighed before pushing the front door opened and stepping out onto the street. "Let's get to the hot springs and get this over with."

Predictably once Katie and Whisper had left the Forester household; the world turned gray, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. Katie was familiar with Terror Time by now, and knew she did not want to be faced with Gargaros at this point in time. Nate might have an easy time facing him, but she hadn't exactly gathered a large amount of skills yet…

"We just need to sneak to the exit," Katie whispered to her companion, whom for once admitted he didn't really know what was happening… which was odd, she thought Terror Time was one of the things Whisper had Baseline information about, at least in the game variant. As they snuck around the corner, Katie spotted something she didn't expect to see in Terror Time. "A Noko!?"

"Katie! Shush!" Whisper hissed as quietly as he could, but it was too late. The little, plump hopping snake noticed their presence. It stared at them for a few seconds before turning its snout upwards.

"Noko! Noko! Noko!" it vanished in a puff of smoke before either Katie or Whisper could respond to this, before a large shout echoed through the area.

" **NOOOOOKO!** "

"… What was that?" Katie questioned nervously.

"A Noko…" Whisper muttered nervously, the ground started shaking; it sounded like something massive was hopping on the ground and headed their way. "Now I remember what this is…"

"Why was a Noko here!? And what's that?" Katie questioned incredulously, before looking the way the sounds were coming from; it certainly didn't sound like Gargaros…

" **NOKO!** " A giant Noko shouted as it came rushing forward from a corner, hopping along the street as it headed the duos way. The two wasted no time and rushed to where Venoct would hopefully meet them and help with the escape.

"Why is this happening!? Why is this a thing!? I thought Nokos were supposed to be good luck!" Katie shouted as they rushed away from the massive hopping snake.

" **NOKO!** "

 **4.8**

Nate groaned as he drank a bottle of root beer and rubbed his head. Pikachu and Link sat beside him, the electric mouse's ear twitched a bit as he looked at the Yo-kai Watch Anchor in concern.

"What's wrong with you? Bad Loop?" Nate nodded to that question as he drank another bottle of the sugar-filled liquid.

"Bad…" he nodded.

"What, was it something like a war between humans and yo-kai?" Pikachu questioned and Nate shook his head.

"Harem…" he muttered tiredly.

"… Harem?" Link and Pikachu exchanged blank glances before looking back at Nate.

"Do you have any brain bleach!?" he called out and Link pulled him back.

"Wow, I know a lot of us don't like harem loops, but isn't that a bit of an over-reaction?" Nate stared at the green clad warrior blankly while Pikachu scratched one of his ears.

"Yeah, brain bleach? Really?"

"Every. Single. Yo-kai…" Nate groaned as he slumped in his chair. "Every one of them was female, they considered me taking their medals like accepting a marriage offer!" Both of the older Anchors sweatdropped at the younger's proclamation.

"Okay, that does sound a little overwhelming…" Link admitted.

"But… you probably had that girl you like after you too, right," Pikachu questioned, hoping to find some positive for Nate to look at, rather than dwell on negatives.

"I don't try anything relationship-wise with UnAwake Katie, not even when she shows interest in me. It's too weird," Nate admitted. "Still, it didn't help that along with her _all_ her female friends also showed interest in me! Along with Inaho and every freaking girl in the whole school!"

"Well… at least it was a new experience?" Link offered while looking at Pikachu to see if he could add anything, but the mouse Pokémon shrugged.

"Oh yeah, nice new experiences. Like Ningyo using a fishing pole to drag me into the water…" Nate shook his head. "I'm just thankful there was no gender-bending… Unless you count Hidabat, but I'm used to her being female… Though I'm not used to her dragging me into the closet to cuddle with her… That actually wasn't so bad…"

"Wait, do you have a thing for the bat yo-kai?" Pikachu questioned with a skeptical look on his face.

"No, but she can be cuddly," Nate shrugged before drinking more root beer.

"Haven't you had enough of that?" Link questioned in concern.

"Since you guys won't let me have brain bleach I'm going to drink this until I feel like I've had enough!" Nate snapped before continuing. Link and Pikachu looked at each other and shook their heads, before getting some drinks of their own.

 **4.9**

Keita walked up on a stage with a projector screen behind him and smiled.

"Hello everyone, my name is Keita Amano, though I also sometimes go by Nate Adams," he walked to the middle of the stage before continuing. "You know, I have a lot of friends, but I think the friends I have the most of are my yo-kai friends. In fact, a lot of people ask me: 'Keita… or Nate. How did you make friends with so many yo-kai?'"

Keita held up a remote and pressed a button, the screen behind him flickered on with a title card that read: 'Nate/Keita's guide to making Yo-kai Friends.'

"Well, I will tell you." He pressed a button the projection changed to map of the town. "One thing you have to remember about yo-kai friends is; you can find them almost everywhere. But you need to know where to look." The screen changed again to show the tree that the Crank-a-Kai sat beneath.

"One good way to get a yo-kai to be your friend is to free them from a capsule machine," the image changed to show a picture of Whisper shaking Keita's hand.

"Sometimes yo-kai will be inspiriting places, like intersections," the projection flipped to the next image which showed Jibanyan fighting a truck. "They might have their reasons for doing such things, the thing with friends is you need to be understanding with them," the image changed to show Keita and Jibanyan talking happily.

"Offering them a place to stay is a good thing to do," the image showed Hikikōmori hiding in Keita's closet.

"Or helping them adjust to an unfamiliar place," the image now showed Keita showing Komasan some of the sights in town.

"Sometimes making a new friend is as simple as pointing them in the right direction," the image showed Orochi looking at Jibanyan, it then flicked to the next to show Keita pointing him towards Red J.

"And sometimes you might not even know how you earned their friendship," the screen showed Kyubi giving a confused Keita his medal.

"There will be times when neither of you will understand how you even became friends," the image showed a surprised Keita pulling a panicking Ningyo out of the water with his fishing pull. He next changed the image to a picture of a sad Jinmenken.

"And then, there are times when a yo-kai just needs a friend," Keita pressed the button to change the image and it showed a picture of him patting the, now surprised, Jinmenken on the head. He changed the image again to show them both hugging.

"But I think the most important thing to remember about yo-kai friends, is that; they are friends," the image changed to a smiling Keita surrounded by many yo-kai that all seemed happy. "And good friends are something to treasure, no matter the species. Thank you," Keita bowed to his very confused audience of classmates and parents. A banner over the stage read 'talent show.'

"Woo! Encore!" Inaho called from the backrow while clapping loudly.

 **4.10**

"Hi-Ho Slimamander!" Nate shouted while the large, three headed, slimy yo-kai reared back and slithered forward.

"… What is Nate doing?" Katie questioned while she watched this bizarre turn of events.

"Boredom can lead to many things, Katie," Whisper muttered, floating by the girl's side.

"This way! To the yo-kai revolution!" Nate exclaimed as Slimamander slithered out of the school's front gate, leaving a trail of slime in its wake.

"Yeah! Revolution!" Komasan shouted from nearby, holding a torch with blue fire burning. Eddie and Bear both walked over and stared in the direction that Nate had ridden Slimamander in. Though neither of them could see yo-kai, so…

"Did Nate just float away?" Bear asked with a blank expression on his face.

"No, that's impossible… right?" Eddie questioned. Katie chuckled nervously and tried not to look at her two non-looping friends.

"Revolution! Revolution!" Komasan chanted while marching around, an embarrassed Komajiro padded over and grabbed his brother's paw.

"Sorry about that. Let's go home brother," the brown komainu insisted while leading his white furred sibling away.

"I'm invincible!" Nate shouted as Slimamander slithered over various houses in Uptown Springdale.

 **4.11**

The Yo-kai Watch Loopers were surprised by the sudden expansion, it felt like ages since their baseline had had any sort of expansion. It seemed to have just halted at that Christmas where the power went out because of the electric yo-kai going on strike.

But now they had an expansion, and it offered some rather interesting experiences for the Loopers, both human and yo-kai. Though there was one detail that the Anchor Keita–sometimes Nate–was dwelling on…

"I… died?" Keita muttered to himself as he sat in his room. Whisper hovered beside him and Jibanyan was off somewhere else.

"Yes, and you became a yo-kai," Whisper crossed his arms as he looked over the child Anchor whom seemed to have a blank look in his eyes. "You didn't seem to take it too bad in Baseline. Besides, you got better, that's more than most yo-kai can say." Keita nodded numbly while looking at his hands.

"I know but… a manhole?" he looked slightly aghast while staring at his ghostly butler. "An open manhole killed me? That's all it took?"

"I told you to pay attention," Whisper huffed indignantly. Though his expression took a bit more of a concerned form as he noticed Keita wasn't responding to him, just staring at his hands shakily. "Keita-kun...?"

"Just… like that? One wrong step and I'm dead? I know it was a test but…" Keita fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling of his room blankly. "… Why do I feel like this? I've died before," Keita muttered to himself as he rolled over onto his stomach.

"... It will be ok Keita, you didn't die permanently. You're still alive in baseline, whiss," Whisper patted his friend's back before hovering away and through a wall to give him some space. Keita remained on his stomach for a few more moments before sitting up and pulling something out of his sub-space pocket; a yo-kai medal of Fuu2; his yo-kai form.

"My own yo-kai medal," Keita regarded as he glanced at the Yo-kai Watch he was wearing at the moment. "What would happen if I tried to use it?" he muttered as he glanced between the medal and the watch. After a moment he sighed and placed the medal back into his sub-space pocket. "I wonder how Yuto is doing...?"

 **4.12**

"Emi…" Jibanyan sighed as he looked up at the moon.

"Hey Akamaru, you doing alright?" The Anchor questioned as he came up to the feline spirit's side.

"Nya… I guess," Jibanyan muttered unsurely.

"Thinking about the Expansion too?" Keita got a nod in response, he stood beside the nekomata for a few moments, both looking up at the sky. "You miss her, don't you?" Jibanyan blinked, glancing up at his human friend with a bit of surprise. "Your time with her in this latest Expansion was short, but I bet it was still nice to meet her again."

"… Yes, I just… Do you think Emi-chan will ever Loop, Keita? Nya," Jibanyan asked, looking at his Anchor hopefully, Keita frowned as he tried to come up with an answer.

"I can't really say, I've never really met her in Baseline, nor does she even appear very much in the hub-backups…"

"… Yeah, I nyow," Jibanyan drooped a bit. "I think it's unlikely, but I hope she does… I have so much I want to talk to her about."

"I understand," Keita nodded. "Emi means a lot to you, I don't know if she will ever Loop, but I'll hope with you," he offered with a smile, Jibanyan smiled back.

"Hey, you never nyow, Komasan got Komajiro Looping by hoping after all, nya" the feline yo-kai pointed out.

"I suppose that's true, though they might have just been meant to Activate together and Komajiro just took an extra Loop to catch up," The two shrugged at the possibility.

"So, what's on your mind, Keita? You look like something's troubling you, nya," Jibanyan, Keita took a second to process the yo-kai's question, before looking away.

"Yeah… You could say the last Expansion kind of… Bugged me."

"Oh, Inyaho that annoying?"

"Er, no that's not it."

"USApyon's Emperor Mode too scary?"

"No, not that."

"Never thought Komasan and Komajiro's mom would be that huge?"

"Jibanyan!"

"What, it was surprising! Nya!" Jibanyan defended his last remark sharply.

"Akamaru! I died!" Keita snapped, the nekomata stared at him for a few seconds, a look of realization on his face.

"Oh… So?"

"So!?"

"You became a yo-kai Keita, like most of the rest of us, what's the big deal?" Jibanyan questioned nonchalantly.

"But I died! I fell down a manhole!" Keita exclaimed angrily.

"Yeah, and I got hit by a truck," Jibanyan grunted with a blunt glare.

"…"

"… Sorry, low blow, I understand it's kind of shocking the first time, nya," Jibanyan apologized while trying not to look at Keita.

"No, I'm sorry Jibanyan," Keita sighed as he looked to the ground. "It's not like it was my first time dying, but… Dying in Baseline, and becoming a ghost? It was just a little overwhelming… Especially considering I died by falling into a manhole of all things. I didn't think about the fact that you've gone through this kind of thing a very long time ago, but you don't get to come back to life…"

"Don't worry about it, I've been dead since before I started Looping, doesn't bother me, nya," Jibanyan shrugged, biting into a choco-bar he had pulled from his pocket.

"Really? I always figured that would still be a bit of a sore spot for you," Keita muttered as he looked down at his cat yo-kai companion. "What about your vendetta against automobiles?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, nya," Jibanyan finished his food before standing up with a determined look in his eyes. "I'll still make sure those evil cars and trucks never take another life again! Nya!"

"I think you'd have more than enough power to defeat a truck by now," Keita chuckled, sweatdropping a bit at Jibanyan's display. "Though… I'd be concerned for the drivers."

"Don't worry about it, I'll make sure no drivers are hurt in my crusade against cars! Nya!" Jibanyan exclaimed with pride. "Still, you ever want to talk about… Being dead, I'm all ears, nya."

"I know, good cat," Keita smiled, leaning down and scratching his nekomata friend behind the ears, Jibanyan purred a bit at affectionate contact.

"I do understand where you were coming from, I guess I've just accepted my lot in life a long time ago, or rather, afterlife?" Jibanyan blinked in confusion. "So, sorry if I was a little insensitive."

"No, I don't think you need to apologize. I was kind of insensitive too, even if your death doesn't bother you anymore," Keita assured, petting his friend's head a bit more. "Maybe I just needed to talk to you about this for your firsthand experience…"

"I'm always here for you, Keita-nya," the cat yo-kai gave an assuring smile.

"Likewise, for me to you, Akamaru."

 **4.13 KaiserRichard**

"SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEEEE!" Whisper yelled as he was trapped inside a Giant capsule. While Nate knew what was coming, it was only a few loops back that his game variant was extended. Only Jibanyan was awake along with the Anchor.

"Whisper!" Nate said has he mentally thought if he should use his Yo-kai Watch to summon some friends or should he just do it solo, when all of a sudden...

"RATTLE ME BONES!"

Instead of Gusty Bones, there was a giant skeleton that had a Captain's hat, an eyepatch, and old pipe in its mouth.

"WELCOME ABOARD MATEY!"

Nate was now very confused with this swap. "What."

"SPIN THE WHEEL FOR THE TREASURE TO TAKE! USE YOUR SKILL TO TAKE WHAT WHAT YOU WILL! BUT DON'T RATTLE ME BONES!"

"What's with the Tree liking this old board game?" Jibanyan wondered as he got ready to do his "Nyext" Soultimate.

 **4.14**

"AKA!" Aka Oni roared as it stomped towards Keita. The Anchor stood firm as the unAwake Whisper and Jibanyan coward behind him.

"Keita-kun, we should really run," Whisper, er whispered to his master as the oni continued its approach.

"Yeah, I don't want die again," Jibanyan whimpered. Keita smiled confidently.

"Don't worry, I've got this," he then turned to glare at Aka Oni. "Aka Oni! Listen up! I'm going over your head!"

"Aka?" the oni looked confused by that statement.

"Huh?" Whisper looked at Keita cluelessly while Jibanyan scratched his head in confusion. Keita simply pulled a medal from his pocket and began to do his signature summoning pose.

"Come on out my friend! Calling Yamabuki Oni! Yo-kai medal do your thing!"

 **Summoning Legendary!**

 **Legend! Legend! Amazing!**

"Yamabuki Oni!" The golden oni announced with a roar as it appeared between Aka Oni and its targets. "YAMABUKI!" he shouted as he held his club up threateningly.

"When did you get that medal!?" Jibanyan questioned Keita whom shrugged.

"That would be, um," Whisper pulled out his yo-kai pad, but Keita pushed it down.

"Yamabuki Oni. The strongest oni there ever was–no more explanation is needed. Even that was too much," Keita explained with a smirk as Whisper blinked in confusion.

"Yamabuki!" the golden oni slammed its club on the ground as Aka Oni backed up in fear and bowed.

"Aka! Aka!"

"Yamabuki!"

"Aka!" Aka Oni looked to be pleading to the higher oni, its clawed hands clasped together as he fell to his knees. Yamabuki Oni gestured to Keita.

"Yamabuki!"

"Aka!" The red oni nodded, before handing Keita his yo-kai medal.

"Um, thanks," Keita shook his hand as he took the medal. Aka Oni nodded, before turning tail and running, Oni time faded leaving them back in normal time.

"What just happened?" Whisper questioned in disbelief.

"Thanks for the help Yamabuki," Keita patted the legendary yo-kai on the shoulder.

"Yamabuki!" he nodded with a smile before turning and walking off.

"… Seriously, when did you get that medal?" Jibanyan asked again.

 **4.15 KaiserRichard**

"Nyate?"

"Yes, Jibanyan?"

"Why is the X-files theme playing nyow?"

Nate sighed as he looked at Venoct, who looked like he had the 7 Chaos Emeralds. "The Tree works in very, very, weird ways."

 **4.16**

Inaho yawned as she pulled herself up from bed.

"Wow, what a day that was. Huh USApyon?" the bespectacled girl looked around her room but frowned when the otter yo-kai was nowhere to be seen. "Oh yeah, he's probably still at that resort in the yo-kai world," she chuckled a little as she stretched and got out of bed. "Well I guess detective work will have to wait. I could really use a day off after all that anyway!"

So Inaho went about changing out of her pajamas, securing her namekichi keychain (that reminded her of USApyon…) and went down for breakfast. Though she couldn't help but think that she had forgotten something…

.

"Wait a minute," after breakfast had been finished she went to watch some Sailor Piers on her computer (since it was summer break she didn't need to go to school, though for some reason she wasn't sure if it had been summer break yesterday.) when she noticed something missing, something that had been a crucial part of her life for quite a bit now. "My Yo-Kai Watch is gone!"

"Sis, what are you yelling about?" Inaho's little brother; Riku peaked into her room, only to see his sister tearing through her sheets and dumping her pillow from its case. Inaho froze in surprise when she noticed her sibling looking at her, but her surprise soon turned to suspicion.

"Riku, have you seen my yo-er-Space Watch?" Inaho questioned with a stern expression on her, usually cheerful face.

"Your what-watch?" Riku questioned with a clueless expression before shaking his head. "I don't know anything about your stuff, but if you lost it it's probably your own fault, you need to look after your things," the young boy huffed before exiting the room. Inaho glared after him for a moment before crossing her arms and thinking.

"USApyon's not going to be happy I lost it, but where is it… I know I never took it off," she paced a bit before something caught her eye; the calendar. "Wait a minute… this isn't right! This date is months before I got my Yo-Kai Watch and met USApyon!"

Inaho's pupils shrank and she stared out the window. "Could it be...? There's only one logical explanation!" she adjusted her glasses seriously as the light shining off of them obscured her eyes. "I've gone back in time!"

.

Nate and Jibanyan both sat on the roof of the Adam's house, looking to the sky and watching the clouds roll by.

"Hey, do you ever wonder why we're here?" Nate questioned, giving his feline friend an aside glance.

"We're here because some undefined disaster broke reality and time is endlessly repeating in an attempt to keep it from becoming even more broken," Jibanyan commented nonchalantly. Nate nodded to this.

"Yeah, I know that, but…" he turned towards Jibanyan and gestured towards their surroundings. "Why are we up _here_? On the roof?" Jibanyan blinked.

"Oh… I'm nyot sure…" The two looked at each other blankly for a moment before they returned to watching the clouds. As they sat there they noticed someone walking down the street that Nate didn't usually see this early in the Loop, unless he went out of his way to find her.

"Inaho?" he questioned while he watched her approach his house while walking on the sidewalk, muttering something to herself.

"If I have gone back in time what could be the cause? A yo-kai… nah, too easy. Probably some sort of alien plan, they want me and USApyon separated for some reason, or perhaps something went wrong in the time stream and things needed to be rewritten," Inaho muttered to herself, she wasn't sure where she was going. Her Yo-Kai Watch probably wouldn't be in the store at this point, but she needed to find one and see if she could find USApyon, if she remembered than maybe he did too.

Her thoughts halted when she noticed someone she recognized, sitting on the roof of a house of all places. Though his position didn't concern her.

"Keita?" she questioned, loud enough for the boy and nekomata to hear from their place on the roof. Nate looked surprised and looked towards Jibanyan.

"Did she just call me Keita...?"

"Yes, she did."

"Keita-kun! Do you remember me!? I'm Inaho Misora! We summoned an anime hero yo-kai together! Do you still have your Yo-Kai Watch!?" Nate sighed at Inaho's calling before he decided to get down and meet with her.

.

"Wait, so it's not aliens?" Inaho questioned, sounding almost disappointed after Nate had explained what was going on to her.

"That depends on your definition of 'aliens' I suppose," Nate mumbled.

"I don't knyow, don't Loopers from other branches count as aliens?" Jibanyan asked as he padded over to his friend and Anchor's side.

"That's a whole other issue I don't want to try and figure out, especially with all the different species and worlds within the Loops," Nate shook his head. Inaho looked confusedly between Nate and the spot Jibanyan stood, before Nate sighed and rummaged through his sub-space pocket for a moment and pulled out a yellow Yo-Kai Watch U, offering it to Inaho, whom quickly snatched it from his hand.

"Hey! This is my Yo-Kai Watch! You stole it!" Inaho exclaimed while pointing an accusatory finger towards Nate.

"That is not your Yo-Kai Watch, I have a large supply of every known Yo-Kai Watch model in a variety of colors stored within my sub-space pocket," Nate said with a look of annoyance on his face. Inaho lowered her finger and glanced between Nate and the watch he had handed her.

"Oh… sorry… wait, sub-space what?"

"We'll go over that later," Nate waved his hand dismissively. "More importantly do you understand what I told you?"

"Of course I do," Inaho scoffed before a smug smile formed on her face. "Our universe is actually a computer program being run in a giant super-computer tree, but the data has gotten corrupted so to stabilize it the program is set on Loop through the more stable parts of the program, with the corrupted or unstable bits isolated until they can be fixed and added to the Loop," Nate and Jibanyan glanced at each other briefly.

"Um… Sure, I guess that's about right," Nate shrugged. Inaho nodded before continuing.

"And to keep the program more stable, a suitable candidate was chosen to this position you spoke of, this 'Anchor' to keep the reality grounded and running smoothly, and other Loopers Activate to help keep said Anchor from going insane. And that Anchor for our world is… Me!" Nate facefaulted at Inaho's conclusion while Jibanyan burst into laughter. "What? Keita-kun?"

"You are not the Anchor!" Nate exclaimed, getting back to his feet and giving Inaho a critical glare. "How could you possibly come to that conclusion!?"

"What, it makes sense. My life is full of the activities of a main character, and from what you said that's typically the type of person whom is chosen. And I'm definitely stable," Inaho nodded with a smirk. Nate sweatdropped while Jibanyan kept laughing, though Inaho couldn't see or hear him since she hadn't yet used the Yo-Kai Watch.

"Inaho, if you were the Anchor I wouldn't have been able to explain this to you, because you'd be the first one to Loop in our Branch," Nate pointed out and the purple haired girl blinked and thought this over. "I'm the Anchor!"

"… You?" Inaho couldn't help but chuckle a little, Jibanyan had finally stopped laughing, but was now smirking at Nate whose eye subtly twitched. "No offense Keita-kun, but I just find it hard to believe someone as ordinary as you would be put into such an important position, I mean you're okay. But you're not main character material. So come on, who's the real Anchor?" Jibanyan had started snickering and Nate glared down at the cat yo-kai, causing him to stop. Nate than turned his focus back to Inaho and said the only thing he could think to while he tried to calm down.

"My name is Nate…"

"… Why'd you change your name?" at that question Nate facepalmed.

.

USApyon hummed in thought as he marched through the town, invisible to the humans that occupied the streets. Odd that he didn't recognize his location, or remember finishing his vacation…

"Uh, I need to find Inaho. Dani," the otter dressed in a rabbit-space suit sighed while looking around for any familiar land marks, surely if he tried he'd be able to find Inaho's house without much issue…

.

"Where is it!?" USApyon shouted, collapsing onto the grass of the park he found himself in. He had been searching for several hours and had been unable to figure out where Inaho's house was… or even where in Sakura New Town he was. Nothing looked familiar!

… Well, some things actually did look familiar, but they weren't landmarks from Sakura New Town. He had definitely been here before, but it was a while ago. He just couldn't put his paw on it.

"… Wait a minute," USApyon's eyes widened in realization. "I know where I am! Dani!" he looked around again as memories filled his head.

The rabbit-looking otter yo-kai soon frowned as his realization sunk in and his eyes widened.

"How did I end up back in America!? DANI!"

.

"If we want to find USApyon, the place where you first met him is probably a good bet… Though it's earlier in the Loop than that usually happens, so it may be trickier," Nate explained as he walked beside Inaho and Jibanyan.

"Huh, what a boring plan… I guess I shouldn't expect much else from you," Inaho shrugged and Nate glared at her. "… What's with the look?"

"Our goal here is to find your partner. I've said the most logical course of action to do that, and yet you're still making fun of me!?"

"I'm not making fun of you!" Inaho exclaimed in her defense. Nate gave her an unconvinced glare.

"… Ok, so do you remember where you met him?" Nate asked after a moment. Inaho seemed to be thinking, she 'hmmd' as she tapped her finger to her chin, though she occasionally sent glances Nate's way. "… What?" Nate questioned; noticing Inaho's focus on him.

"It's nothing!" she insisted defensively. The two humans stared at each other for a couple of seconds before Inaho opened her mouth again. "Ok, so you're _really_ the Anchor?"

"For the last time; yes! Stop asking!" Nate hissed in aggravation. "What do you not understand about that!?"

"Sorry, it's just kind of hard for me to wrap my head around," Inaho chuckled sheepishly while Nate kept glaring at her. Jibanyan chuckled a bit a and patted Nate's pants leg

"Yeah, he didn't exactly seem like 'Anchor-material' at first to me either, Katie would have probably been a better choice. But sometimes things just happen," Jibanyan shrugged with a smirk on his feline face. Inaho chuckled a little along with the small nekomata, though neither noticed the Anchor's face twist into a snarl before a growl starting emitting from him.

"Rudy!" the brown-haired boy suddenly snapped while glaring down at the fire-using yo-kai. Jibanyan looked up at Nate, a little shocked at the use of one of his living names at this moment, before Nate spoke again. "Shut up!" With that Nate turned away from the two and began storming off. "Fine!"

"Nyate?"

"If I'm so unfit to be an Anchor you two can find the otter-rabbit yourselves!"

"Oh, come on Nyate! I didn't mean that! It was a joke!" Jibanyan called after his Anchor, though he didn't seem in the mood to listen. "Come back…" Jibanyan's ears drooped a little as he watched his friend leave.

"What's his problem?" Inaho asked curiously, Jibanyan's ears perked up a bit before he looked at her with a deadpan expression. "… What?"

.

"'Uninteresting.' 'Normal.' Not 'Anchor-material.' I'll show them," Nate growled as he walked towards his house. "See how well they do without my help!"

"Nate!" the call of his ghostly butler caught Nate's attention, he looked over as he floated to him.

"Whisper? I thought you were with Katie this Loop?" Nate questioned, his anger momentarily forgotten.

"Well I was, but she Woke up a little while ago so I figured I'd go find you. She's probably already befriended Kyubi," Whisper explained with a shrug, Nate sweatdropped.

"How does she always befriend him so fast?" he shook his head before smiling a little. "Well, nice to have you back for the Loop. I'm glad you at least think I'm worth something."

"Huh?" Whisper questioned in concern, he noticed Nate looked a bit upset and was staring towards his house. "Nate? What happened? Where's Jibanyan?"

"That cat's off with Inaho, she's Looping by the way, they want to find USApyon," Nate explained with a huff while crossing his arms.

"Inaho's Looping now!?" Whisper's eyes widened in surprise… before he blinked and scratched his head. "Um… Which one is Inaho again?"

"The girl with the glasses."

"The shy one in your class? You barely interact with her!"

"No, that's Shelly. Inaho's the hyper one with purple hair and a Yo-Kai Watch. We met her Baseline-wise in the latest expansion, she's partnered with the otter yo-kai in the rabbit-space suit," Nate explained as best he could as Whisper looked to be thinking.

"… Oh! Right, now I remember her," the yo-kai butler nodded with a smile, but the concerned look returned to his face when he looked back at Nate. "Wait, why is Jibanyan with her but you're not? And why are you upset?"

"Upset? What makes you think I'm upset?" at that response Whisper just stared at Nate with an unconvinced expression. "… Ok, I'm a little upset."

"What's the problem? Still dwelling on how in the last expansion you kind of… died?" Whisper asked carefully. Nate sighed and shook his head.

"'Temporarily died.' And no, I'm pretty much over that. It's just…" the Anchor trailed off as he looked away from his butler/friend.

"… Just what?"

"… Inaho's annoying!" Nate shouted after a moment; startling Whisper whom fell back a little, but managed to keep afloat.

"Ok, that was uncalled for," Whisper muttered, rubbing his forehead before balancing himself again and looking towards Nate. "I'm a little confused. Don't you like Inaho? I seem to recall you going out of your way to befriend her in quite a few Loops since you first met her in that medieval kingdom variant."

"I liked her better when she wasn't Looping! I explained the Loops to her and her first conclusion was that _she_ was our world's Anchor!"

"… After you explained to her what was going on?"

"Yes! And then Jibanyan goes in and starts talking about how I'm not 'Anchor-meterial' while Inaho just says I'm so 'ordinary' and 'uninteresting!'" Nate growled as his hands balled into fists.

"Can't blame her for that one," Whisper commented with a shrug, though he flinched at the glare Nate sent his way. "What I mean is; Inaho only knows the Baseline 'you' she met during the latest expansion. She doesn't know how much you have grown in the Loops or the skills you've learned."

"… Well maybe so," Nate nodded, but he still seemed upset. "Rudy however doesn't have that excuse. That cat's been Looping nearly as long as you, and yet he thinks I'm not 'Anchor-material!' Really!?" the brown-haired boy stomped his foot on the ground in aggravation.

"What does that even mean? Anchor-material? You _are_ the Anchor, the admins decided that a long time ago," Whisper scratched his head in confusion. "I think you're getting worked up over nothing, you know how Jibanyan is, he probably didn't mean anything by it."

"Maybe… But I'm not going back there," Nate huffed as he started walking up his front porch. "They can find USApyon on their own."

"USApyon?" Whisper questioned, before pulling out his Yo-Kai Pad.

"The otter in a rabbit space-suit I mentioned Inaho hangs around with," Nate clarified with a shake of his head. "Seriously, I'd think you'd have memorized at least as many yo-kai as me by now," a tick-mark formed on the ghostly butler's head at that comment.

"I'll have you know that I am, have always been, and always will be, a never-ending source of infallible yo-kai information!"

"Seriously Whisper, just stop. I'm not in the mood right now," Whisper deflated a bit at his master/friend's dismissal of their usual banter as he opened the door and went inside his house.

"This could be serious, as a butler it's my duty to make sure my master is well… and as a friend I should make sure he's really ok," Whisper said in concern before he floated after Nate, seamlessly passing through the door the Anchor had closed behind himself.

.

"USApyon!" Inaho called as she walked through town, followed by a somewhat guilty Jibanyan.

"Nyate…" the nekomata sighed as he thought about his friend.

"No, it's 'USApyon', and you need to call louder," Inaho explained to Jibanyan before turning forward again. "Like this: USApyon!" Jibanyan groaned and shook his head.

"I'm worried about Nyate," he stated while looking up at the newly-Looping girl. She glanced down at him again before patting his head and smiling.

"Oh, don't worry about him. I'm sure he's fine, so he got a little riled up. It's not anything I haven't seen before. At least he doesn't shoot lasers at you," Inaho said with a cheerful smile.

"But I think I hurt his feelings," Jibanyan scratched his head as he looked up. "And, nyot to play the blame game or anything, but you kind of did too."

"How did I hurt his feelings?" Inaho asked, looking genuinely confused at the accusation.

"Do you remember back in baseline, when you first met him and said he pretty much had nyo interesting qualities?"

"I was complimenting him," Inaho pointed out, which surprised the cat-like yo-kai a little. "Someone as normal as him having such a talent for making friends with yo-kai? I thought it was really cool! Not to mention he's famous among the yo-kai! USApyon only came here because he was looking for him."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Of course, why would I want to insult him?" Inaho asked with a tilt of her head.

"I don't know… people make fun of each other? It sounded like you didn't think much of him, and how you were having a hard time believing he was the Anchor. He took it that way at least… we need to go talk to him," Jibanyan concluded with narrowed eyes.

"But we still need to find USApyon."

"Inaho, think about this: You said USApyon only came here because he wanted to find Nyate originally, right?"

"I remember it as 'Keita', but yes."

"Both are correct. Anyway, if that's the case he's not going to be here," Inaho looked confused after Jibanyan had said that.

"Why not?"

"Because it's early in the Loop! Nyate hasn't really met any other yo-kai except for me. Plus, this Loop is a variant; Katie is the one who freed Whisper from the Crank-a-Kai, and even if USApyon comes to meet Katie like he did for Nyate in baseline, that's nyot going to happen for a while."

"Hmm… Katie? Crank-a-Kai? Whisper is the poached egg-looking guy, right?" Inaho tapped her forehead in thought. Jibanyan facefaulted.

"Did you even hear me!?"

"Yeah I did! So, what are you waiting for!? Let's go get Keit–I mean, Nate!" Inaho called as she ran down the sidewalk. Jibanyan blinked as he watched her move further and further out of sight.

"… Hey! Don't just run ahead like that! Wait for me!" the cat yo-kai shouted as he dashed after the bespectacled girl.

.

"For my next trick, I'll make this slip of paper vanish before your vary eyes," Kyubi, in his human form, exclaimed while taking a confident pose to the people that had gathered to watch at Uptown Springdale's riverbank. Katie stood by with her arms crossed and an unimpressed look on her face, her friend Sarah stood next to her; her face red as her eyes focused on the disguised yo-kai.

"Where did you meet him again?" Sarah whispered to Katie whom sighed as Kyubi used his powers to stealthily burn the paper to smithereens.

"Thank you, thank you. You're a wonderful audience," the fox yo-kai disguised as a boy bowed several times as a few of the people clapped.

"I just met him around," she sighed, was Kyubi always this 'show-offy'? Why hadn't she noticed the first time she ran into him?

"Wow, lucky," Sarah muttered in awe. Katie shook her head before walking over to Kyubi.

"And now for my next trick– "whatever the nine tailed fox wished to say was cut off when his human companion gently jabbed him in the chest with her elbow.

"Ok that's enough, quit showing off. I think you've wasted enough of our, and their time," Katie insisted, pulling the disguised yo-kai along.

"But my fans!" Kyubi protested, which Katie ignored as she dragged him.

"Sarah, sorry to ditch you like this, but I think it's time me and my 'friend' headed home," Katie sighed. Sarah blushed harder and covered her mouth with a small gasp, to which Katie gave a confused look.

"Oh my, inviting me to move in already? I know I'm smooth but still," Kyubi chuckled, Katie thought about that for a moment before she too blushed.

"Our separate homes!" she exclaimed before glaring at a chuckling Kyubi.

"Oh, come now, we can all have a good time at your place," Kyubi laughed while Sarah turned away in embarrassment.

"You know, I think mom was interested in exotic recipes lately… like maybe, 'fox stew," Katie spoke in an unamused tone. Kyubi stiffened a little, his ears and tail popping into view.

"Shutting up now."

"Good," she nodded, pulling Sarah away before she could look at Kyubi's revealed yo-kai features.

"Go on home Sarah, this guy's all talk. He's a decent friend, but you shouldn't get all riled about what he says," Katie insisted to her friend whom nodded slowly.

"Don't worry about me, fair maiden. We shall see each other again, and I look forward to that time, but for now we must part. Good day," Kyubi (whom had hidden his ears and tails once more) spoke dramatically, with a wink and bow. Sarah blushed again and smiled dizzily.

"B-bye," she waved before leaving. Katie glared at Kyubi whom smirked at her.

"What? Jealous?"

"I wish you wouldn't mess with my friends' heads," she sighed with a shake of her head.

"The heart wants what the heart wants my dear Katie," Kyubi said with a flip of his hair. Katie facepalmed.

"Why do I keep befriending this guy? Why do I keep befriending this guy?" Katie muttered to herself, but Kyubi's sensitive ears picked it up and he looked at her questioningly.

"'Keep befriending'? What do you mean by that?"

"Um…"

"Wait up!"

"Keep up! We're almost there," Katie and Kyubi both looked over curiously as they saw a girl running with a nekomata not too far behind, both of whom Katie recognized.

"Jibanyan? Inaho?"

"Katie?" Jibanyan looked over at her questioningly, only to ram into Inaho, whom had stopped to look Katie's way. "Ow!"

"How do you know my name?" Inaho questioned in confusion.

"I already told you, Katie's Looping," Jibanyan muttered dizzily.

"You didn't mention that, also I don't know her," Inaho pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure I did… and I forgot you never met her in Baseline," Jibanyan rubbed his head.

"Wait, Inaho's Looping!?" Katie exclaimed in surprise.

"Looping? What the heck are you guys talking about!?" Kyubi questioned with a voice full of confusion and aggravation.

"Well you see, it starts with this tree-" Inaho's attempt to explain was cut off by Jibanyan jumping up and grabbing her arm.

"We don't have time! We need to go see Nyate!"

"Wait, did something happen to Nate?" Katie asked in concern.

"Who's Nate?" Kyubi questioned with a raised brow.

"Oh right! Let's go!" Inaho shouted before rushing off, Jibanyan holding onto her arm.

"Wait! What's going on!?" Katie yelled as she chased after Inaho and Jibanyan.

"I would like to know that too!" Kyubi shouted before transforming into his true form in a puff of smoke and flying after the others.

.

"Why are shiny Pokémon so hard to find!?" Nate growled as he played his 3DS.

"Why don't you just hack the game? You hacked into military computers, I think you could hack a simple game," Whisper pointed out.

"I need to catch one legitimately! That was the bet. And trust me, Pikachu will know if I hacked," Nate insisted before focusing on his game once more.

"If you say so," Whisper shrugged with a sigh. The sound of small rocks hitting the bedroom window caught the yo-kai butler's attention, though Nate didn't seem to notice. "… Nate, I think someone's trying to get your attention."

"Can't talk right now. Battling hoards!" Nate insisted as he continued to play his Pokémon game. More rocks tapped on the window.

"Nyate!" an easily identifiable voice called from outside.

"That sounds like Jibanyan," Whisper said before floating over to the window.

"Tell him I'm busy," Nate growled before he had his Victreebel use sweet scent to trigger another hoard.

"Nate! Mr. Anchor!"

"That's Inaho," Whisper said, looking out the window and down at the visitors.

"I don't want to talk to her!"

"Nate!"

"That's Katie," Whisper said.

"Yes! A shiny! Wait, Katie?" Nate dropped his 3DS "NO!" he reached for the falling device, but despite his super speed he did not react fast enough. The 3DS hit the wooden floor with a cracking sound and the game screen froze. He dropped to his knees as he stared at the screen, showing his Greninja in the middle of battling two Plusles and three Minuns, one of the Minuns being shiny, "I was… so close," he whimpered over the audio of the game, which had been reduced to a glitch, buzzing noise.

"… Nate?" Whisper crossed his arms and looked at his 'master' with a skeptically. Nate took a moment before he came back to his senses.

"Nyate! Come out!"

"Maybe he's not in there…" Kyubi's voice suggested before the nine-tailed fox yo-kai hovered up and looked in the window, he spotted Nate and tapped on the window.

"… Ok, let's go see what they want," Nate sighed after shaking his head and pocketing his 3DS and getting up, he waved to Kyubi before leaving his room and heading down the stairs to the front door.

.

"Jibanyan, Inaho, Katie, Kyubi," Nate nodded to each of them after stepping out of his house, Whisper following closely behind.

"How did you know my name?" Kyubi questioned. Inaho chuckled as she adjusted her glasses.

"Allow me to explain, you see it all starts with a tree– "

"Who doesn't know about the 'great Kyubi'," Nate interrupted Inaho with a sarcastic tone to his voice. Inaho fell over as Kyubi chuckled arrogantly.

"Oh, a fan. I should've known. What, do you want an autograph?"

"Kyubi!" Katie pushed the fox yo-kai aside before looking at Nate. "Nate, what happened? Is something wrong? Jibanyan and Inaho seemed worried."

"Nothing's wrong Katie, I just needed to blow off some steam," the Anchor assured his friend/crush. "Though they did cost me that shiny Pokémon," he added under his breath while his eye subtly twitched.

"What?"

"Nothing! Nothing, everything's fine," he assured again with a very big, fake smile on his face. Katie didn't look convinced, but Jibanyan pushed forward and looked up at him.

"Nyate…"

"Rudy," he nodded. The cat yo-kai looked at him for a moment more before hugging his leg.

"I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, I didn't mean it… you're a great Anchor," he assured, Nate frowned and looked away from the nekomata, who's ears drooped, but a moment later Jibanyan felt a hand on his head, and look to see Nate petting him.

"Don't worry about it Rudy, I know you didn't want to hurt my feelings. I don't want you to beat yourself up, I overreacted. I really was just blowing off some steam, I'm fine now," he said soothingly as he stroked the cat's furry head. Jibanyan gave a few purrs in response to the affectionate contact.

"Aww," Katie smiled at the scene while Kyubi crossed his arms and scoffed. Katie glared at him before jabbing his stomach with her elbow.

"Ow! What!?"

"Yeah! You guys made up! I'm so happy for you!" Inaho cheered, rushing over to Nate and Jibanyan and pulling them into a hug. Nate looked annoyed while Jibanyan looked disappointed that the petting had stopped.

"Yes, everything is alright now," Whisper said with a smile, Nate turned his annoyed glare on his yo-kai butler.

"Please let us go," Nate spoke to Inaho in an even tone. The girl nodded before releasing the human and yo-kai from her hold.

"I'm just glad all that worked out! Now let's go find USApyon!" Inaho shouted, pointing to the sky.

"I'm still not thrilled with you, Inaho," Nate growled a little. Inaho looked at him and scratched her head with a nervous chuckle.

"Inaho! Remember what we talked about," Jibanyan was looking up at Inaho critically.

"About USApyon not being here yet?"

"No, about Nyate's feelings."

"Oh, right," she looked back at Nate whom was looking at her skeptically. "So, your friend tells me I might have said some things that might have possibly… offended you…"

"… Wow, you think?" Nate's sarcastic tone did not deter Inaho from continuing.

"So, he said you may have taken some of my descriptions of you as insults. And I just wanted you to know that I wasn't trying to insult you."

"… Ok."

"Really! I have like, one hundred and ten–no!–twenty percent respect for you! I- Wait, ok?" Inaho looked confused as Nate nodded.

"Yeah, ok."

"Just like that!?"

"I know you better than you think Inaho," Nate smiled before lightly flicking her forehead. "You're like the master of unintentional rude comments."

"Hey!" Inaho covered her forehead and glared at Nate as he laughed. "That's not funny! I thought you hated me!"

"I could never hate you, you've become my friend too many times for me to count," Nate smiled as he patted Inaho's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I got all that out of my system one-shoting Pokémon hoards with surf anyway."

"Um… What?" Inaho asked in confusion, Katie and Jibanyan chuckled while Kyubi scratched his head, looking just as confused as Inaho. "… So, you'll help find USApyon?"

"Sure, how hard could it be?" Nate shrugged.

"Yes! Even if you're incredibly average your aid to this search will no doubt be invaluable!" Nate glared at Inaho after that exclamation. "Er… I mean, you're not average at all… in fact you're extraordinary!"

"Never mind, where do we start looking?"

.

The airport was abuzz. Families waiting to get to their vacation destinations. Business workers going to or returning from business trips. Bored kids making noise. Crated dogs barking.

USApyon peeked out from his hiding place behind a potted plant and looked up at a flight schedule.

"Ok, which flight will take me to Japan? Dani," he questioned as he looked over the destinations and the flight numbers. A person walked by and he quickly ducked back behind the plant, slowly peeking out again when they had passed. "Hmm… The soonest flight going to Japan is leaving… Now!? Dani!"

He looked around again to make sure the coast was clear, before rushing forward to the correct line, he looked for an opportunity to sneak on the plane… before he remembered one, important detail.

"Wait a second! I'm a yo-kai! Nobody can see me! Dani," The rabbit-looking otter yo-kai shook his head before he stepped forward and looked at the people lined up to get on the plane. "I'm cutting in line to board this flight! And I'm not paying for a ticket! Dani!" he announced proudly, confident that nobody could hear him, before marching forward.

USApyon's moment of triumph however was cut short, by a sword blocking his path.

"Dani!?" he jumped back and stared at the yo-kai that was in his way.

"So, you don't intend to pay for a ticket huh? BRATS LIKE YOU NEED TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON!" Snartle shouted angrily.

"Oh, come on! You're not even a merican yo-kai! What are you doing here!? Dani!"

"Exchange program," Snartle shrugged before brandishing his swords threateningly. "But no matter where I go brats who break the rules will be punished!"

"Well this won't be pleasant," USApyon sighed with some dread in his voice, as he held his laser gun up defensively.

.

"I have no idea where we're supposed to find that namekichi," Inaho sighed as the group sat in Uptown Springdale's park, a little kid cheerfully swung on the swing set in the background.

"Why did you call USApyon a nyamekichi? Also, what's a nyamekichi?" Jibanyan questioned Inaho blankly. The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out the mushroom-like keychain that she often compared USApyon to. Jibanyan stared at it for a second. "… Yeah, I can see that."

"If we just wait he should show up like in Baseline anyway, looking may be pointless, he might not even be a yo-kai yet," Nate pointed out before biting into a donut that none knew where he got from.

"Well than what do you propose we do?" Inaho asked with a critical look in her eye. Nate shrugged and finished his donut.

"Well… We could deal with Slimamander," Katie suggested as she stared wide-eyed in the school's direction.

"Slimamander?" Nate raised a brow, before a realization hit him. "Oh! It's summer vacation, so I guess we're doing a game-variant. Ok, Slimamander's no problem, let's just– "Nate was caught off by a loud, deep sounding roar that echoed from the school. The two humans and three yo-kai all slowly looked where Katie was and saw, even from their position in the park, how an absolutely enormous Slimamander had claimed the top of the school as its own. "… Well, so much for a normal game-variant."

"What's a game-variant?" Inaho asked, seemingly already over the shock of seeing the huge boss yo-kai. "No wait! Don't tell me! I can figure this out, let's see…"

"It's a variant where we go through the story of our hub-backup video game," Nate deadpanned.

"I told you not to tell me! Wait… we have a video game?"

"Yes. But never mind that now, we have a giant three headed salamander to deal with."

.

"Oh, finally got away… Dani," USApyon sighed as he let out a few breaths of relief. He had managed to slip onto the plane going to Japan and escape Snartle's wrath. Now all he needed to do is wait… Just wait. "… This is boring… Dani."

.

"This is awesome!" Inaho shouted as she, along with the others did battle with a bunch of colorless, red eyed yo-kai. Inaho wielding a large rocket-launcher that she was using to fight of some enemies on her own.

After the group had taken care of the giant Slimamander, Nate had decided that they should just take the fight straight to McKraken (though Inaho didn't recognize that name). They had recruited Komasan and Komajiro, whom were luckily Awake, before heading to the Yo-Kai World to take on the head honcho himself.

"Take this evil doers!"

Komasan watched with a smile as Inaho shot a rocket at some of the enemies, causing them to scatter in many directions before looking to his also brother whom had a concerned look on his face. "I knew it was a good idea to hold onto that."

*BOOM!*

"If you say so brother…"

"This seems a lot easier than the last time we came here!" Inaho called to Nate whom was using Spectral Fang in gun-mode to take out some evil yo-kai in his way.

"It's normally a bit more suspenseful, but we kind of just want to get this out of the way right now," He switched his weapon to scythe-mode and got into a fighting stance.

"Where'd you get that cool gun-scythe anyway!?"

"I'll tell you later!" Nate shouted before rushing through several of the evil yo-kai in his way and heading down the pathway that lead to McKraken. Inaho shrugged before she continued shooting rockets at the enemies.

"You think you stand a chance of fighting me? Ha! Take this!" Kyubi shouted as he blasted flames at some of the white yo-kai.

"Yeah! Show them we mean business!" Katie cheered from the sidelines.

"We? You're not really doing anything," Kyubi pointed out. Katie crossed her arms and huffed before glaring at some of the white yo-kai, she held out her hand and growled a bit before some of the yo-kai floated in mid-air and were tossed into others, defeating several of them.

"How's that for doing something?"

"… Ok, I'll admit that's a _little_ impressive."

"Take this! Paws of Fury!" Jibanyan cried from nearby.

"Spirit Dance!"

"Wild Zaps!" the Komainu brothers joined in with their own attacks to help out. "Wow! Never really had to go all out like that in Baseline!" Komajiro exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh my swirls! There's more in-coming! Come on Komajiro!" Komasan exclaimed as more evil yo-kai approached and the two got ready to fight.

"McKraken's up this way, we'll get him before he even has a chance to absorb the yo-kai energy in the human world!" Nate shouted as he sped along the path, Whisper with him.

"We're coming up on his location fast," Whisper said while glaring up a head.

Nate smirked as they came up to the door to King Enma's former-throne, he held his weapon ready as he prepared to break down the doorway.

"Hey Nyate! Wait up!" Jibanyan called out as he came running over, followed by the others in their group.

"So, the big baddy behind there?" Inaho asked with a confident smirk as she held her rocket launcher ready.

"Yeah, not like he'll be much of an issue," Kyubi chuckled.

"I'm not so sure after that giant Slimamander…" Katie muttered.

"Come on, we got through easily enough. What could that nasty squid really have to throw at us?" Whisper asked confidently. Suddenly the entire Yo-Kai World seemed to shake and giant white tentacles could be seen rising up over the gate. All of them glared at Whisper. "What!?"

.

USApyon snatched a bag of nuts from a food cart and glanced out one of the plains windows.

"How many more hours to go? Dani…"

.

"Take this you oversized cephalopod!" Nate shouted as he punched the, currently almost kaiju-sized and more monstrous looking, Chairman McKraken, with a modified gauntlet that was on fire.

"Nyext!" Jibanyan exclaimed while using one of his alternate soultimate moves. Inaho shot rockets at the monstrous yo-kai while Katie psychically threw debris from the destroyed surrounding architecture.

"Inferno!" Kyubi shouted, unlashing his soultimate move upon the enemy.

"Oh my swirls! This sure is exciting!" Komasan exclaimed while his brother stood beside him, shooting electricity at McKraken.

.

USApyon watched some random movie play from behind one of the passenger's seats, he tried to open his bag of nuts… but the bag wouldn't open…

.

"Octo Snake!" Venoct, whom had joined in on the fight against McKraken, shouted as the heads on his dragon scarf lunged forward to attack.

"How much will it take to defeat this guy!? Do we need to summon King Enma again!?" Inaho called to Nate, shooting another rocket at McKraken in the process.

"That shouldn't be necessary… nor do I think it's even possible at this point in time!" Nate called back, he switched the medal in his gauntlet from Swelterrier to Blizzaria and put a Robonyan F medal in Spectral Fang. "We just need to keep up the assault!"

"You don't nyeed to tell me twice!" Jibanyan exclaimed, before transforming into Robonyan and flying over some of the higher, flailing tentacles. "Rocket Punch!"

"I don't understand how you guys do half the things you do. But I'm having too much fun to question it!" Kyubi shouted as he released more flames towards the giant squid-like yo-kai. Komasan and Komajiro both willed themselves to evolve into Komane and Komiger and started throwing stronger attacks.

.

USApyon's eye twitched as he tried to pull the bag of nuts open.

.

"He's almost down guys! Let's go, all together!" Nate shouted as they all kept throwing attacks at the giant boss yo-kai. McKraken roared, seemingly unable to speak in his monstrous form, before finally falling and vanishing in a giant puff of smoke.

"Did that do it?" Venoct asked, hovering by Nate.

"Doesn't he usually go to the human world and get stronger?" Komane asked while scratching his head. Kyubi looked at the lion-dog in confusion.

"Usually? Seriously, why do you guys seem to know the future or something?" he looked to Katie for answers and she scratched her head awkwardly.

"Um, well…"

"I would like to know that too, how did you know that the Yo-Kai World was in danger?" Venoct asked while looked toward Nate.

"Oh! Let me explain!" Inaho exclaimed excitedly. "You see, it all starts with this tree– "before Inaho could finish the entire Yo-Kai World seemed to be shaking again, the demonic laughter of McKraken echoing.

"Looks like this boss fight isn't over yet," Nate said seriously, Inaho drooped in disappointment at being interrupted again.

.

"Come on you stupid...!" USApyon's growled as he pulled on the plastic containing the assorted nuts.

.

"Come on everyone! Let's defeat this guy once and for all!" Nate shouted as they stood before the massive, powered up Squiddilius McKraken. He had transformed into some sort of giant dragon-squid yo-kai that was flying over Mt. Wildwood. They had been joined by some other non-Looping yo-kai friends like Walkappa and Baku, whom wanted to help defeat the giant evil yo-kai.

"Why is he randomly a dragon!? Does that even make sense?" Whisper asked Katie, whom shrugged.

"Everyone, his weak point is that mouth on his stomach… at least if he works the same way as his regular final form… Anyway! Let's all get up there somehow and take him out!" after this everyone cheered, except Whisper who still looked confused.

"Seriously, why is he a dragon?"

.

"Er! Will you just… open already! Dani!" USApyon hissed as he pulled harder on the bag of nuts, even biting at it to get the bag open, he tugged and tugged. Until finally the bag opened… and sent the nuts flying around, startling the passengers in the process. "… Whatever," he sighed, before grabbing one of the nuts off the ground and eating it.

.

"Attack! Everyone aim for the stomach-mouth!" Nate shouted, shooting several shots into the sky with Spectral Fangs gun-mode. Everyone through their projectiles into the air to hit McKraken's giant, draconic form.

"Rocket Punch! Rocket Punch!" Robonyan shouted, shooting more. He transformed into Robonyan F and kept firing.

"Come on brother! Let's give it all we've got!" Komiger exclaimed and Komane nodded.

"Right behind you Komajiro!" he nodded before they shot more fire and electricity at McKraken.

"Take this!" Walkappa shot water into the sky while Baku expelled sleep smoke, Cadin flew up and attacked with a sword and Buhu tried to inspirit the boss.

"You're going down giant monster!" Inaho shouted confidently while shooting rockets at the stomach-mouth, which had opened up just in time. It seemed to take forever, but after a lot of hits, dodging attacks, and healing from any damage the boss yo-kai threw at them; it seemed he was finally falling.

"Is he going down?" Kyubi asked, looking a bit tired.

"I think he might be," Katie smiled.

"I think we did it guys," Nate added, looking a bit relieved.

"FOOLS!" McKraken's voice suddenly shouted out.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me…" Nate groaned as the other members of their group stood ready in case of another attack.

"This… is… Not… Even…"

"… Not even what!?" Inaho questioned loudly.

"MY FINAL FOR– "McKraken started to shout, only for a closet, of all things, to appear over his head and fall onto it, happening to hit the exact weak point to defeat him once and for all. The closet landed on the ground before the stunned group before it opened a tiny bit.

"Um… hello," the yo-kai in the closet greeted shyly.

"… Hidabat! You came!" Nate shouted happily. Robonyan F landed on the ground before changing back into Jibanyan whom gave a sigh of relief. The Komainu brothers both reverted to their smaller forms and everyone seemed to relax a little.

"So, he's done now?" Whisper asked, a little nervously.

"I believe he is," Venoct nodded.

"Finally! But that was fun," Inaho laughed a little, before looking over at Komasan and holding up the rocket launcher. "I can keep this, right?"

"Sure!" Komasan nodded cheerfully. Inaho giggled as she clutched the weapon, while Komajiro sweatdropped with an unsure expression on his face.

"So now what?" Kyubi asked Katie whom looked relieved the battle was over.

"What else? Party time!" Jibanyan shouted in excitement.

.

"Finally! I finally made it! Dani…" USApyon groaned as he stood before the Misora household. "I only hope Inaho hasn't gotten into too much trouble without me… well, she better be grateful for all the trouble _I_ went through to get back here! Dani!"

Without wasting another second USApyon pushed the door open, not really caring that it was unlocked, and rushed up to Inaho's room.

"Hey Inaho! I'm back, so you can stop worrying or whatever!" USApyon stood in the doorway of the room, waiting for some sort of response. Though he just heard the sounds of video games… He looked and spotted Inaho, playing a video game on a 3DS with a boy he recognized as Keita, and a girl he didn't recognize at all.

"You guys are going down! I have absolutely mastered the power of Samus at this point!" Inaho cheered confidently.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. But I'm the one who just got the Smash Ball," Nate smirked.

"Hey! You stole that from me!" Katie accused.

"Ahm!" USApyon's voice caught the attention of the three children whom looked his way.

"USApyon? Where have you been?" Inaho questioned the newly arrived yo-kai.

"I… I, I ended up in America! I don't know how! I don't know how!" USApyon shouted, tired, confused, and out of breath. "I snuck onto a plane back here, and then I searched all over for you! It took me a week to find you after getting off the plane!"

"Wait, you remember her!? You're Looping too!?" Nate interjected in surprise. USApyon looked at him confusedly.

"To be honest, I'm not surprised at all by that," Katie muttered while shaking her head.

"Looping?" at USApyon ignorance Inaho patted his head, a smug grin on her face as the reflection of her glasses obscured her eyes as she adjusted them.

"Allow _me_ to explain."

"No," Nate shook his head. "Allow meto explain."

"Oh come on!" Inaho shouted as USApyon turned his attention to the Anchor.

.

"So, we're time traveling!? Dani!?" USApyon grabbed his head as he tried to process what he had been told.

"Basically, though it isn't simple time traveling. This Loop we're experiencing right now is a variant after all," Nate shrugged.

"I would've explained better," Inaho huffed as she looked away from them.

"I'm sure your explanation would've made less sense," USApyon grunted while looking at Inaho dully. Inaho growled and glared at the otter yo-kai.

"I'm glad I forgot about looking for you! You rude little namekichi!"

"You forgot about me!?"

"Oh yeah, that's what we were supposed to do… I guess we kind of got sucked into the celebration after we beat that super McKraken-dragon… then we just kind of forgot about it completely," Nate looked to Katie.

"Yeah, I kind of forgot about it too…"

"Grrr…"

" **VADER MODE!"**

"Oh yeah, that's a thing," Nate muttered while Katie and Inaho nodded. Before the three children ran out of the room, with USApyon chasing them and shooting lasers at them.

 **4.17**

"Jibanyan, what are you doing?" Keita questioned as his feline companion sprayed some sort of substance around the room.

"Well, you know when my tails accidentally set the curtains on fire earlier this Loop?" Jibanyan questioned while looking over to his human friend.

"Who could forget? Wissu," Whisper shrugged while floating over.

"Yeah, mom was ticked," Keita sighed. Jibanyan nodded before he continued spraying.

"Well, if things can be caught on fire so easily by my tails this Loop, I thought keeping this place a little safer would be good. I mean, a lot of this is wood! What if my tails set the house on fire!?" both Keita and Whisper nodded to the ghost-cat's concern. He smiled at the two and held up the can of what he was spraying. "So, I went and got this 'inflammable spray!' And sprayed it all over the house so we don't have to worry!"

"… Wait, you did what?" Keita questioned in a worried tone before he and Whisper glanced at each other.

One explosion later Whisper and Jibanyan were standing over the burning remains of the Amano residence. Whisper didn't look like he knew what to say and Jibanyan was panicking.

"Inflammable means flammable!? What kind of a world is this!?" The nekomata shouted in confusion. Fuu2 came out of some of the debris and surveyed what was left of his home, before sighing and floating over to the two other yo-kai.

"Well my house, and body's toast. At least mom and dad weren't home…"

 **4.18**

"Man, I'm so bored. Things haven't been interesting anymore since the time travel stuff started," Inaho groaned as she sat at her desk. USApyon sat nearby, polishing his ray gun. The rabbit-looking yo-kai gave his partner an unamused look.

"Not interesting? I think things have been a little too crazy since this whole Looping fiasco started," he huffed as the purple haired girl gave another groan and leaned back.

"But we know the answer to all the cases! And we barely get any new ones! I'm bored!" she cried out as she raised her hands. USApyon looked irritated but this wasn't enough to set him into 'Vader Mod.' Though it was getting close… "I know!" Inaho suddenly looked cheerful as she pulled a yo-kai medal from her sub-space pocket.

"… Where did you get that?" USApyon questioned as he came over and saw the yo-kai that was depicted on that medal. He already had a bad feeling about whatever his partner was planning to do.

"Keita-kun gave it to me! I think having a friend over would help ease the boredom! Now then," She held up the medal ready to insert it into her Yo-kai Watch. USApyon stood back.

"Just for the record, I think this is a bad idea," The little yo-kai hissed.

"Noted. Doing it anyway!" Inaho cheered before continuing. "Come on out my friend! Calling Fuu2!" she inserted the medal into the watch and watched as it began to activate. "Yo-kai medal do your thing!" The summoning tune for the Fushigi-zoku tribe played before a small, blue, ghostly yo-kai with a tail that was shaped like the number two appeared.

"Fuu! Fuu! Fuu2!" The yo-kai announced, holding up two fingers. He blinked after a moment and looked around in confusion, he then looked down at himself and gasped in disbelief.

"Hi Keita-kun!" Inaho greeted her friend while USApyon sighed in the background.

"Inaho! What did you do!? I thought I told you to only use that medal in an emergency!" Keita–or Fuu2–cried out in distress.

"But this is an emergency! There's nothing to do! You're good for making boring days fun!" Inaho insisted with a friendly smile.

"I was doing something," Keita hissed disapprovingly. "You can't just rip someone's soul from their body anytime just because you're bored! It's rude!"

"I told her not to do it," USApyon shook his head. Inaho chuckled a little embarrassedly.

.

Back at Keita's house, Jibanyan walked into said Anchors room while eating a chocolate bar. He stopped when he saw the boy sitting at his desk, with his head down on the game he had been playing, the screen beeping as he continually held down the random buttons with his head. No signs of life at all came from him. The fire-using nekomata stared at this scene for a moment before glancing back down the hall.

"Whisper! Keita's dead!" he called out nonchalantly, before he hopped onto the bed and took a bite from his chocolate bar.

 **4.19**

"Can't believe we're an idol group this Loop," Weiss said with a shake of her head.

"I can't believe we woke up right in the middle of a concert and Yang had to clamp her hands over her mouth to stop herself from singing!" Ruby laughed as her sister glared at her silently.

"And I can't believe we still have fans after that whole mess, and Yang refusing to make any comments on it," Blake muttered with her arms crossed.

"Meh, doesn't surprise me. Next HarMEOWny. Or NyaKB. Had a lot of fans in Baseline. I honestly never got the hype, but considering their replaced with your 'RWBY' group this Loop, I guess the devotion gets carried over," Nate shrugged, not really concerned with the circumstances that surrounded his siblings and the rest of team RWBY Looping in, and just happy to have them over. Still…

"Next HarMEOWny! WAAAHHH!" Jibanyan cried, a fountain of tears flowing from his eyes, as he lay on the floor while banging his front paws on it.

"… Is he always like this?" Weiss questioned, looking a bit irritated by the undead cat's tantrum.

"No. Only when it concerns that band he's so into," Nate sighed with a shake of his head.

"Next HarMEOWny's not just a band! It's a way of life!" Jibanyan suddenly shouted, standing on the table the five humans (or four humans and one faunus, depending on how you looked at it) were sitting at and staring Nate in the eyes.

"Jibanyan calm down, they'll be back next Baseline run," Whisper interjected, trying to settle the nekomata's mood. However Jibanyan simply turned his glare on the ghostly butler.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" he suddenly pounced on Whisper, causing the ghost to cry out in shock.

"Stop! Nate! Help me!" Whisper called out as Jibanyan took out his frustrations on him. Nate sighed before getting up from the table to separate his two friends.

.

"So, Yang's not talking at all this Loop?" Nate asked as he, Ruby and Yang were walking down the sidewalk in Uptown Springdale. Weiss had gone off to the Yo-kai World for some observation of the culture of the odd spirits, while Blake was just hanging out back at his house.

"Not just this Loop, she's been at it for a while. And she still has a few more to go. It was a bet," Ruby shrugged. Yang nodded, and as explained, kept her mouth shut. Nate just stared at her with a look of disbelief.

"Why would you take up a bet like that?" Nate questioned his blond sister whom just gave him a look that told him all he needed. "You just can't resist a challenge, can you?" her only response to that was a smirk.

"Yeah, surprisingly one of those yo-kai showed up at Beacon a few Loops back, a babblong. Tried to get Yang to talk, and failed. Hard!" Ruby explained while Yang smiled proudly.

"Really? You resisted that thing? You're going to have to tell me how… when the bets over, that is," Nate said in an impressed tone and Yang nodded.

"There was also a blazion inspiriting Nora… but that's a story for another time," Ruby mentioned and Nate couldn't help but shudder a little.

"So, what are you going to do about the whole 'idol thing' this Loop?" the youngest sibling questioned, in an attempt to change the subject.

"I called the manager of our band and gave an excuse for why Yang can't sing. I basically told him she has a bad throat and we don't know how long it will last," Ruby shrugged. "I told 'em we'd call when she was better, so that should at least keep them from bugging us for a while." Nate laughed a little at that.

"You know, it's kind of weird having memories of being the little brother of two members of a famous idol group. You'd think that would make me considered a little above-average. But everyone just comments on how normal I am compared to you," he grumbled that last part a bit, but smiled when Ruby pat his head. Yang held her fist up in an encouraging way and punched it into her other hand. "… No Yang, I don't think combat would be a good way to impress them…"

"Nate! Wait up!" the three glanced behind them and saw a girl Nate's age, with short purple hair and glasses, running towards them.

"Oh great," Nate sighed with a sweatdrop.

"Who's that?" Ruby asked before Inaho stopped in front of them.

"Chi-watchi!" Inaho exclaimed while showing her Yo-kai Watch proudly, before she began looking them over excitedly. "Oh gosh! It's you! You're from that awesome hub-show!" she exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"You've seen our show?" Ruby questioned curiously.

"Well only the first season. But you guys are awesome! I thought Nate was bluffing when he mentioned you were his sisters! But here you are! Nate, I can't believe someone as extraordinarily ordinary as you would have such close ties to someone like THEM!" Inaho exclaimed excitedly and Nate's eye twitched.

"… New Looper?" Ruby asked her little brother.

"Unfortunately," Nate groaned, Ruby patted his back with a sympathetic look on her face. "Ruby, Yang. This is Inaho Misora."

"Chi-watchi!" Inaho showed her watch again with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, hello. You already did that," Ruby nodded, looking a little confused by the girl's actions. Yang looked at Nate and pointed at Inaho, while swirling one finger around her head. Nate just shook his head to the unspoken question.

"It's just so exciting to meet you! I mean not as exciting as it would be to meet Sailor Piers, but still! You guys are awesome! Where are the others anyway!?"

"We had a recent expansion, she and her partner were kind of dragged in un-expectantly," Nate whispered to his sisters.

"Well, she seems really nice but…" Ruby smiled kindly, but glanced at Inaho whom was still chattering on, seemingly oblivious to the conversation she and Nate were having. "She is really… Chatty…"

"Yeah, I already checked. She's not being inspirited," Nate muttered while rubbing his head.

"And anyway! We can all hang out! If we get the others it would be cool! And Nate can come too, I guess. Not that I don't like Nate or anything, but when I think 'cool', my mind doesn't exactly– "as Inaho continued to speak Yang started making a mouth gesture with her hand, opening and closing it rapidly.

"Hey! Inaho!" they looked over and saw what looked like a little, rabbit-like creature in a space suit, holding a laser gun. He ran over and glared up at Inaho whom had stopped talking to look at the angry yo-kai. "What's with just running of on me!? Dani!"

"Aw, cute. Who's this?" Ruby asked Nate enthusiastically.

"USApyon, the partner of Inaho's I mentioned also got dragged along when the expansion hit. He's alright, but I would be wary of him," Nate whispered to Ruby and Yang. USApyon might have been offended, had he heard what the Anchor said. But currently he was too busy being angry with Inaho to pay much mind to his whispering.

"You can't just run off like that without any warning! Dani!"

"Don't be such a crybaby, you little namekichi!"

"What did you call me!? Why you!"

" **VADER MODE!"**

"I think I see what you mean Nate!" Ruby commented as they ran away from the berserk, laser shooting, yo-kai. Yang nodded in agreement, though was smiling for some reason.

"You're enjoying this!?" Nate questioned in disbelief. Yang shrugged.

 **4.20**

Dr. Maddiman giggled as he looked down at his restrained patient. He held his blades up with his one big eye dilating.

"Now than Nathen, let's get that heart out! Don't worry, you won't feel a thing… once it's over!" The mad yo-kai doctor let out a maniacal laugh. But Nate didn't seem fazed at all.

"Yeah, that sounds fine. But there's one problem with that idea," The restrained boy said calmly. Dr. Maddiman looked at him in confusion.

"What would that be?" after that question Nate's eyes darkened and a creepy smirk formed on his face.

" **I'm already dead!** " without warning Dr. Maddiman was thrown back by a burst of energy. The cyclops yo-kai rubbed his head in a daze and looked up before gasping, floating before him was a blue, demonic ghostly, skeletal beast of some sort. It had piercing red eyes, a star shaped hole in its torso, and held some sort of mechanical scythe in its hands. " **You got a lot of projects under your name? Don't you doc? How many subjects did you have, how far do your projects go back?** " The blue yo-kai gave a menacing laugh as he held his scythe up " **Well, I think it's time you learned what it's like to be helpless! Like one of your strapped down science experiments! It's time for you to be culled!** " Dr. Maddiman trembled in fear and tried to back up as the reaper-like yo-kai that had previously been Nate approached him.

"No! Get back! Please! No!" the yo-kai doctor's screams filled the halls of Nocturne Hospital.

.

"Nate...?" Whisper looked at his charge with a questioning expression as he walked along the side walk with a pleasant smile on his face. "What happened last night exactly?" this Loop so far had seemed to be a normal, game-variant. But the other night when they had been in Nocturne Hospital Whisper had heard… Some unsettling screams.

"Oh, I just put a certain doctor in his place," Nate smiled in a way that Whisper somehow found unsettling. "Don't worry. I didn't do anything to him… physically. But I don't think he'll be trying that trick again," Nate continued on his way, still as cheerful as ever, Whisper just followed with concerned look on his face.

"If you say so Nate…"

.

In a certain abandon hospital in the town of Springdale. A yo-kai that was a madman, even when he was human, sat in a corner of his old office, his legs pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapping around them as he rocked back and forth.

"Doctor, what's the problem? Do you want me to try and find another subject?" The little Leadoni that was his assistant asked as he peaked through the door. Dr. Maddiman rapidly shook his head.

"No! No more subjects! No more, no culling! No culling!" he cried as he rocked back and forth faster. The Leadoni scratched his head with his large arm before shrugging.

"Um… okay than," he backed up a bit slowly before quickly leaving without another word.

 **4.21**

"Hey Fumi!" Inaho greeted with a smile as they both approached school.

"Oh, Inaho. Hey," she waved with a small smile of her own. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, just checking out those anime hub-backups of our Loop. Funny stuff in there," Inaho chuckled a little while Fumi nodded.

"Yeah… though some of it is kind of embarrassing…"

"Speaking of which, you do know that Keita-kun has a crush on you, right?" Inaho asked with a smirk on her face. Fumi briefly turned red before looking away from the other Looper.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh come on! You've seen the backups too. There is no way you don't know!" she slid over to Fumi's side and put her arm around her shoulder. "Plus, with that whole Yakimochi ordeal, I don't think the feelings are entirely one-sided."

"Yo-kai inspiriting make people act out of character all the time! Y-you can't pin anything I did while inspirited on me! Baseline or otherwise," Fumi insisted, still refusing to look at Inaho or reveal her red face.

"Maybe, maybe. But I'm pretty sure Yakimochi, or Minochi, makes you jealous about people taking away what you already want, or someone you already want the attention of. So, when all your jealously was focused entirely on Keita-kun and nobody else, what exactly does that say about you?"

"Well you see, that is, Er–nice talking to you Misora-san, but I really need to get to class!" Fumi exclaimed before breaking away from her friend's grip and rushing to the school building.

"… Was it something I said?" Inaho questioned with a shrug before putting her hands on her hips and frowning.

 **4.22**

Nate (or Keita, depending on when you ask him) knew, and accepted, that despite the thousands of Loops under his belt, he was among the younger Loopers. Especially when compared to his adopted Looping family, whom had experienced billions, perhaps even trillions of Loops prior to his Activation.

Because of this simple fact, Nate had often been considered the 'baby' of his Looping family unit. Not that that was a bad thing, but he did get a little aggravated at times with how much Ruby seemed to enjoy calling him her 'baby brother,' or how protective all three of them could get at times.

On the other hand, it wasn't like they weren't protective of each other too. And he loved all of them, Nate wasn't sure he could've handled the Loops up until Whisper's Activation if not for them.

Still, the whole 'baby' thing just annoyed him sometimes, not too often, but when it came to Loops like this…

"Oh! You are just so CUTE!" Ruby, in chibi form, squealed as she hugged a much tinier, five-year-old, chibi Nate a Jibanyan costume.

"Ruby, please put me down," Nate groaned in a somewhat high pitch voice.

"Sorry, but you're so cute!" Ruby giggled, placing the small child on the ground and smiling at him. "You don't come here during Chibi Loops very often," Nate pouted as he glared at his sister, an action that only made her squeal more over how 'cute' he was…

Yeah, with a Loop like this, Nate couldn't help but wonder if Yggdrasil was just trying to annoy him…

"Why is your little brother allowed at Beacon? And what's with his pajamas?" the, UnAwake, Weiss interjected, looking at Nate with a bit of reservation.

"Well… I'm not sure, but he is," Ruby shrugged, before she noticed something behind Weiss. "Um, Weiss? Who's that?"

"… Oh, that's just my little sister; Katie," she stepped aside, revealing the little five-year-old girl, in a Komasan costume.

"… And you were questioning why my little brother's allowed to be here?" Ruby asked, not looking at all surprised at the presence of Katie as Weiss' younger sister.

"Well, Katie's cute is all…" Weiss shrugged, Ruby glared at her partner, UnAwake or not, Ruby wasn't going to let her get away with that.

"You take that back! Nate is much cuter!"

"Um, no."

"Oh yes he is! Look at his little kitty hood!"

"Yeah… not cute."

"Grrrr!"

"Hey Nate," Katie waved, walking over to him awkwardly. "I'm… not exactly sure what's going on around here… We're on Remnant, right?"

"Chibi-Loop," Nate shrugged, trying to ignore his sister's argument with her UnAwake partner.

"Heard about those, never had one," Fumi shrugged. "So… Are you always...?"

"I'm not usually a five-year-old if I come here, most of the time I replace Ruby."

"Ok… So, do you know what's with the… um," Fumi blushed a little as she looked down at herself.

"The costumes? No, I think it's weird too though."

"What's going on?" the two arguing sisters looked, just in time to see Yang and Blake enter the room. Blake being the one whom questioned them, Yang immediately went over to Nate and hugged him.

"Oh! My baby brother! What are you doing here?" she cooed to him, Nate groaned, not liking the babying at all, he didn't voice his complaints though, as it was clear she wasn't Awake.

"I took the dust-ship," Nate spoke, in as childish a tone as he could pull off. Yang squealed and hugged him tighter.

"Blake, who's cuter, mine and Yang's little brother, or Weiss' little sister!?" Ruby asked, pointing to Nate; still being hugged by Yang, and Katie, whom waved nervously. Blake blinked, before silently stepping aside, revealing a five-year-old girl in a USApyon costume.

"Dun dun du duh! Super Space Agent: Sailor Namekichi is on the case!" Inaho cheered as she held up her little toy replica of USApyon's laser, before running around the room, pretending to shoot things. Ruby and Weiss blinked in confusion.

"… You have a little sister too?"

"What makes you think that?" Blake questioned, before going over to her bed and opening up a book. Ruby and Weiss just stared at her, Yang had moved on from fawning over Nate, to fawning over all the little children, and Blake just read her book.

 **4.23**

"Nobody but us Awake this Loop?" Nate asked Whisper as he walked through the doors to school.

"Nope, I didn't get any other pings. You?"

"Same. Oh well, was hoping to try something crazy with Inaho. Guess we can just enjoy a little Baseline… Though avoiding some yo-kai related mishaps," Nate shrugged.

"You speak as if all of your Baseline problems are caused by yo-kai," Whisper pointed out, looking a little offended.

"Not _all_ of them, just most of them," Nate commented as he continued his way to his classroom.

"Well now, that's– "

"Nate! Come quick!" Whisper's attempt at an argument was cut short by Eddie, whom was gesturing Nate to hurry to the classroom with a panicked look on his face.

"I wonder what's got him riled up…" Whisper stated, his previous anger seemingly forgotten.

"Eddie, what's the problem?" Nate asked his friend as he approached.

"It's Bear! Something's really wrong!"

"Hold on, what do you mean by 'wrong'?" even as Nate asked this he internally groaned. ' _I was hoping it was just Baseline with no alternate yo-kai shenanigans…_ '

"I have no idea what to even call it! Just get in here!"

"Alright, alright. What exactly happened to–Bear!?"

"HI NATE! Would you like some of my chocolate dipped pickles!?" Bear–or at least what _looked_ like Bear–offered to the newcomer, as well as the other classmate's whom seemed disturbed. For you see, there were a few minor details that were just… wrong with this picture.

"B-Bear's nose!?" Nate gasped, pointing to the huge, pink, bulbous nose sprouting from Bear's face. That, and the fact that his eyes had been reduced to nothing but small, black dots, painted a rather horrifying picture for the two Loopers.

"BILLY!?" Whisper exclaimed in both shock and fear as the Billy-Bear tried to get some of the students to try his 'chocolate dipped pickles.' "Did he replace Bear!?"

"This is bad," Nate muttered while rubbing his head.

"I know man, I have no idea what's going on. Though the swelling and odd behavior might indicate an injury of some kind," Eddie sighed as he puzzled over what was wrong with his friend. A sudden scream caught his, Nate's, and Whisper's attention and they looked to see Sarah pointing at Alex with fear in her eyes, said tomboy was slumped over, almost dead to the world.

"Sarah? What's wrong?" Nate questioned.

"A-A-Alex's nose!"

"Say," Alex twitched a little before, much to everyone's terror, she revealed her face, and how her nose had swollen the same way Bear's had, and her eyes had turned to black dots as well. "DO YOU GUYS LIKE PIES!? I LIKE PIE! PIEPIEPIEPIEPIEPIE!"

"What in the world?" Nate questioned fearfully as he backed up. A few more students gasped as others slumped over, before they too were revealed to have been 'Billy-fied.'

"You guys want to hear all the things that rhyme with cheese!?"

"Anybody want to have a parade!?"

"LET'S FIND A KIWI NEST!"

"This is a nightmare!" Nate shouted while clutching his head.

"What's going on!? Is it a virus or something!? We need to call– "Eddie stopped mid-sentence and slumped over as well. Nate and Whisper looked at the boy fearfully and fully backed out of the classroom.

"Eddie! No!" Nate cried, before his normally intelligent friend lifted his head back up.

"Nate! DOOOO YOU LIKE PIE!?"

"NO!" Nate shouted before he raised his wrist up.

"What are you doing?" Whisper asked his master/friend, momentarily forgetting his horror.

"I'm going to see if there's a yo-kai behind this! It's the only thing I can think of!" Nate shouted, before his yo-kai butler could protest Nate shined the watch's light over the room, before what appeared to be a ghostly Billy appeared in the center of the class.

"Come on everybody! Let's dance!" the yo-kai Billy cheered as all the 'Billy-fied' students mimicked him.

"Whisper…" Nate muttered, looking his way. Whisper quickly scanned through the yo-kai pad.

"According to the data of this Loop. This is… 'Billy-Nose?'"

"Billy-Nose?"

"He's an eerie Tribe yo-kai whom causes those he inspirits to grow a large nose, get small black eyes, and start acting like he does–which in this case is… that!"

"COWPIES! COWPIES! COWPIES! COWPIES!" Billy-Nose and all the students chanted as they did a silly a dance.

"Horrifying," Nate muttered with one eye twitching.

"And that's not even the worst part!"

"Worst part?" Nate looked at Whisper in concern as the butler seemed to grow tenser.

"Billy-Nose is a legendary yo-kai. And anyone he inspirits stays that way unless he turns them back himself. Even if he's not around them!"

"Legendary!? Him!?" Nate questioned in shock, before he processed what Whisper said. "Wait! I need to convince _him_ to turn them back!?"

"Yes. I'm afraid so!"

"Ok class! Today we'll be studying PIE!" Mr. Johnson exclaimed while walking in, already sporting a Billy nose and eyes.

"No! They've already got to him!" Nate stepped out of the inspirited teacher's way.

"Yeah! I was too bust playing in the mud to do homework!" A Billy-fied Katie exclaimed as she ran into class.

"Not Katie!" Nate shouted as all the inspirited class became to chat about nonsense and do things like pick their noses. "I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Nate shouted before he used his semblance to rush out of the building, dragging Whisper along for the ride.

"Wha! Slow down Nate! I want to get away too, but this is too fast!" Whisper cried as Nate ran down a sidewalk. Every person they passed had seemingly already been inspirited by Billy-Nose.

"No! This can't be happening!"

"He works fast," Whisper muttered, dumbstruck.

"Somebody kill me and end this stupid Loop!" Nate shouted madly.

"Won't do any good, you'll just become Fuu2. Remember?" Whisper pointed out.

"Then somebody kill me twice!"

"Hello!" the familiar voice that both of them dreaded was heard, and they turned to see Billy-Nose smiling stupidly at them, a legion of Billy-fied people and yo-kai flanking him. "You don't look like you're having fun! EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE FUN!" identical sounding laughter sounded from him and all that he had inspirited caused Nate to scream.

"YOU NEED TO TURN EVERYONE BACK!" Nate shouted in rage.

"Nate! You know who this is! It's useless reasoning with him!" Whisper cried out, while gripping his friend's shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"Be happy!" Billy-Nose exclaimed while giggling, before sending his inspiriting wave their way. Nate dodged, though Whisper wasn't quick enough.

"WHISPER!" Nate shouted, wishing he had thought fast and grabbed him first.

"Don't worry Nate, if you think I can be inspirited after all my time in the Loops, you are gravely under– "Whisper slumped over before rising with a Billy nose and eyes. "AND you need to be careful of clowns! They'll DESTROY US ALL!"

"NO! WHISPER!" Nate cried in anguish, the Billy-fied horde laughed and Nate's body trembled before he pulled Spectral Fang from his pocket, his eye twitching madly and a smirk forming on his face.

.

"Huh?" Keita Woke up to find himself, Fumi, Kuma, and Kanchi standing in what seemed to be an old mansion.

"The doors locked, now what?" Fumi questioned fearfully.

"Easy, we just search around till we find something. There's gotta be a key around here somewhere," Kanchi waved off Fumi's concern. Nate nodded slowly, though he felt like a sinister presence was watching them.

And then he noticed he was pocket-locked…

 **4.24**

"So… what are we doing today?" Mercury asked Emerald as they both stood outside a dust shop.

"I'm… not sure, Cinder has some plan," Emerald muttered uncertainly, their discussion halted when a shiny sports car drove past them, loud music blaring from it, before it slowed and backed up, stopping next to the two criminals.

Mercury and Emerald both stared in confusion as the window slowly rolled down to reveal a red and white cat that tilted down his sunglasses to look at them. They also couldn't help but notice the sunglasses wearing corgi in the driver's seat…

The cat stared at them for a few seconds as they stared back in disbelief, before he stuck out his tongue at them and the window rolled back up, the car then zoomed off, splashing water from a puddle onto them along the way.

The two stood in silence for a moment before Mercury glared at Emerald.

"… What are you looking at me for? I'm just as confused as you!"

 **4.25**

"So, it seems we've had a bit of an expansion, recently," Keita said as he looked between the present Loopers, they were all meeting in his room, everyone was accounted for; Whisper, Jibanyan, Fumi, Inaho, USApyon, Komasan, Komajiro, and of course Hikikōmori was peeking out from the closet (which was why they were having the meeting in his room in the first place).

"Right, so any new business for you guys?" Inaho asked eagerly. Keita, Fumi, Whisper and Jibanyan looked to each other and shrugged.

"Not much really happened… except," Keita looked like he was thinking.

"Oh! Let me guess!" Inaho raised her hand excitedly before pointing towards Keita and Fumi "Did you two find out you're really twins that were separated at birth?"

The two humans stared at her blankly as all the yo-kai didn't look like they knew what to say.

"What… no?" Keita said, a confused look on his face.

"How on earth would you come to that conclusion?" Fumi asked, her expression a near perfect reflection of the Anchor's. Inaho noticed everyone in the room giving her weird looks…

"What? They look a lot alike. Come on, I can't be the only one who sees it," Inaho tried to justify herself. All the yo-kai turned to stare at Keita and Fumi, their eyes widening a little. Keita and Fumi likewise stared at each other briefly, inspecting themselves and continuously glancing back at the other. After a few moments of this Keita gave a small cough and decided to change the subject.

"That… unsettling realization aside–Not much really happened for us, other than a few new yo-kai showed up, oh and Kuma has a younger sister apparently," Keita shrugged, trying to forget what Inaho had said.

"Yeah, you'd think something like that would've been mentioned earlier," Fumi pointed out.

"Anyway, nothing big like last expansion, though I'm sure Baseline me will end up doing a lot of stupid stuff," Keita sighed.

"Well I got sick again, wasn't much of an issue for us as we are, but I do wonder how Baseline will handle that, wiss," Whisper said, Keita didn't have an answer.

"I just did my thing, nothing really happened for me except hanging out and eating chocobars, I used some of the time to work on those laziness exercises Master Grif gave me," Jibanyan stated proudly.

"… Laziness exercises? Dani," USApyon looked at Jibanyan like he was crazy.

"Nothing really much for me either, but I just hang out in the closet," Hikikōmori said briefly.

"I do feel like we don't have much going on in Baseline right now, zura," Komasan sighed.

"It's just more time for us to enjoy ourselves, with our abilities as they are right now most yo-kai problems seem insignificant, we'll find out what's actually supposed to happen once we see the hub-backups," Komajiro said, patting his brother on the back.

"What about you guys?" Keita asked Inaho and USApyon. Inaho blinked before a smile formed on her face.

"Well, we finally found out the identity of that Phantom Thief Kopin!" The bespectacled girl announced proudly.

"Turns out it was just some egg yo-kai…" USApyon said in an unimpressed tone.

"… Okay," Keita muttered, unsure of how to respond to that.

"… Oh, yeah also there's something up with my classmates," Inaho added, a confused look appearing on her face. "Yo-kai powers don't work on them… or at least they don't work right…"

"We have no idea why, but it seems no yo-kai can beat them," USApyon shrugged.

"… So, this expansion was uneventful," Keita said after a moment. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay then, meeting adjourned! Let's all go do something that's actually fun!" the Anchor was met with a chorus of agreements.

 **4.26 GammaTron**

Qrow exhaled under his breath as he Awoke a few days after Summer's funeral. As he heard the snarls of Beowolves, he recalled that he was actually coming over to see how Taiyang was holding up.

"Guess I gotta go save my..."

*RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR*

"What was that?" Qrow tensed as he soon heard explosions, slicing, yelps of fear, and...and was that... "Who plays Mexican polka?"

Quickly making his way to where he normally would find Yang and Ruby at, he skidded to a halt at seeing a metallic orange bear twice the size of a normal human ripping apart the Beowolves while keeping them away from an upturned wagon where two three-year-olds and a five-year-old were hiding behind, the younger two crying. The revving of a chainsaw made Qrow look at the robo-bear...or, rather, it's claws to see they were actually claw-shaped chainsaws with said chains being plasma. It was using said claws to slice through Beowolves before deploying a pair of cannons with curved oversized blades on them from its shoulders and shot blasts at them. By the time the Beowolves were retreating in fear, there was roughly three from-judging from all the black dust-a hundred. The robo-bear roared, its gold visor-like eyes glowing faintly before it tensed and parts of it began to shift and change. Qrow watched as the humongous robotic bear became a man in orange hi-tech armor with a gold visor. His eyes further widened as the armor turned into a wrist-mounted device that the eight-year-old boy that looked like a younger Taiyang with Raven's hair put behind his back and pulled his hand back to reveal it was gone.

"Darn it, Yang! What were you thinking just running off with Keita and Ruby like that?!" the boy snapped, "You're just lucky that I was coming home from Simmons's house or you would've..."

'Might as well get notices,' Qrow thought before saying aloud, "Ahem!"

"U-Unca Qrow!" Yang gasped.

As Taiyang scolded and hugged Yang in the room nearby, Qrow sat across from the young boy as he carefully dunked an Oreo a few times into the cup of cold milk before eating it, the filling having already been licked off with no remains of it to be seen on the cookie halves of it. After he finished swallowing it, the boy looked up at Qrow.

"Kinda loopy how Yang just did that, huh?"

'A Looper, huh...' "Yeah, you could say she needs an Anchor."

The boy nodded, "Dexter Grif, Looper of Red VS Blue."

"Qrow Branwen, Looper of Remnant. Not your first time Looping here, has it?"

"Not in the least. Considering that our Loops are sorta siblings Loops since we come from the same company in the Hub Loops, we often have Loops like this," Grif explained as a red and white cat got onto the table, "Hey, Jibanyan. This guy's a Looper."

"Okay," Qrow raised a brow at the talking cat, "Name's Jibanyan, nyan. I'm from Sakura New Town and Master Grif's student, nyan!"

Grif tossed a bar of chocolate into the air and it was gone in mid-air, "I never agreed to that, dammit." he looked at Qrow, "Anyways, you can already guess it, but my name this Loop is Dexter Grif Rose."

"Right..." Qrow nodded before pointing lazily at the living room, where Ruby was fast asleep on a blanket on the floor with the little boy, "And the little kid fast asleep with Ruby there?"

"Keita Amano from Sakura New Town," Grif replied, "He does have another name, but I just prefer calling him by the name I first met him and became his older brother as."

"So, I take it that it's just the three of us at the moment who are Awake?" Qrow asked.

"Yep," Grif nodded.

"That's right, nyan," Jibanyan nodded.

"That somewhat explains the suit you used," Qrow noted, "Kinda looked like an Ursa or a bear."

Grif's eyes widened, "Oh godda..."

BEARS!

"What was that?" Qrow asked, looking around as Grif slammed his head on the table with an annoyed groan.

"The Admin of Master's Loop put a little joke that does that whenever Master is around and someone ends their sentence with the word 'bear' or bears,' nyan," Jibanyan explained.

"Dammit, Greg...You just had to make me find bear jokes hilarious..." Grif groaned, his voice muffled by the table.

"I see..." Qrow took a swig of his beer, "So... What are your intentions this Loop?"

"Well, it's Keita's Loop Birthday this Loop, once Ruby, Cinder, and Yang are Awake," Grif explained as he pulled out a calendar that had multiple 'X' marks on the days with one uncrossed day having 'Keita/Nate's Birthday!' on it and circled, "I wonder if he'll like the gift the three of us worked together on for him..."

"So how close are you to them? Because I should warn you that..."

"I know and support Yang's relationship with Blake Belladona, mainly because I know they can look out for each other and because Blake scares me more than I scare her. Then again, all the girls I know that can fight can kick asses six ways to Sunday...and always aim for the balls."

"Yep," Qrow nodded, cringing as he recalled his in-Loop memories of Summer and Raven doing just that to him and Taiyang at times in fights.

Jibanyan merely smiled as memories of his old owner in his baseline went through his head.

"Have they told you much about Keita and me?" Grif asked.

"A bit," Qrow replied, "They said it'd be better to meet you both in person. I'll be blunt, you got my interested with that suit of yours."

"Thanks. I thought of it when I Looped into this place called Chima and became a bear," Grif explained, "That was the best Loop ever. Of all time. I got to sleep so much." he glowered, "Unlike here in Remnant. Because those goddamn Ursa are always awake..."

Qrow raised a brow. He knew from what his nieces told him that Grif loved to sleep, but the Grimm were actually preventing him from sleeping?

"For some reason, Master can't sleep during the day because of the Ursa, nyan," Jibanyan explained.

"They don't know how to sleep! What the fuck is wrong with those things?! They're bears, dammit! They should know better than to stay awake!" Grif complained, "Ugh. I need a shot of whiskey or some strong alcohol."

"You drink?"

"Buddy, if I'm not eating, sleeping, being an overprotective older brother to two girls and a boy, or being a soldier for an insane guy in red, it's drinking."

"...I think we're going to get along just fine," Qrow smirked, pouring Grif a shot of whiskey.

Qrow watched as he saw Keita freeze for a fraction of a second before dodging a swipe of the Ursa before him before he swung his gun-scythe and lopped its head off.

"Feeling a bit Loopy after that last takedown?" Qrow called to the now teenager.

"Yeah, I'm just Anchored now," Keita replied as he turned and walked over to Qrow, "So you're Looping? That's great! It's nice to meet you!"

"Likewise," Qrow nodded, "Grif's been telling me a lot about you."

"I can guess," Keita rubbed the back of his head, realizing his brother was Awake as well, "Is anyone else Awake this Loop yet?"

"Well, Grif's been talking with that Cinder girl..." Qrow frowned as Keita couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

"Well, she is another Looping sister..." Keita noted.

Qrow nodded before the two began to leave the forest they were in, "Just to let you know, your brother's over at Beacon. Tomorrow's the day Ruby normally ends up getting spotted and invited by Ozpin."

Keita nodded, "We were planning on going to the Dust shop tomorrow anyway. So what's the team that Grif's on?"

"They filed for a name change and instead of being a letter in their names making up a word, they just call themselves Team Purple," Qrow shrugged, "And you should know them already. They came to Patch for their last break."

Keita blinked twice before his in-loop memories finally sorted themselves out, "Oh...So that means SImmons, Tucker, and Washington are here and Awake."

"So, ready to go to Beacon?"

"A little," Keita replied, "It'll be one of the first times I've been there as Ruby's twin brother, though. Normally, I replace her or she's my really older sister that already attended Beacon and I go in her place."

Qrow nodded, just letting Keita talk.

"So, what do you think of big bro and baby bro, Unc?" Yang asked as the two nieces and one uncle sat at a park.

"Well, after spending a few years with Grif, I've learned that he despises Ursa, has some decent weapons, and is actually more protective of you two and Keita than me," Qrow noted, "And the bit of time I've had with Keita outside of the time I've spent with you all after Grif coerced me to stay, I have to say the kid's not bad. Reminds me a bit of you, Ruby. Especially with the scythe of his that he pulled out of his Pocket to show me."

"Aw..." Ruby beamed.

"By the way, mind telling me why Grif stole all the oreos in the world and gave me a packet of them?" Qrow asked, showing the small six pack.

"Grif always steals his favorite snack after what Maya Fey did to them that one Loop," Ruby noted, "He's so good he only needs an hour or so after Waking up to get it all."

"As for the packet..." Yang pulled out a contained with a six pack inside of it, "It's a symbol of Grif stating you're family and that he'll always be there in a way, even if he isn't. He willingly gave you something he treasures more than life itself by giving you that pack, Unc. So, keep it safe since it means he sees you as a real uncle."

"When we first learned about you after Grif became our honorary big brother, he's always wanted to meet you and see what kind of man you are," Ruby added, "He must see something pretty great since he gave you one."

"Well, we did bond over some oreos and different kinds of beer. Never even knew that Oreo had one of every kind of beer made into an Oreo..."

"Beer and oreos...no wonder he loves you like a real uncle," Yang snickered.

"Hey, no puns, little lady," Qrow frowned.

"Aw come on. You think I'm gonna qrow how you get along well with our over-bear-ing big brother?" Yang grinned.

"...Just for that, you don't get a Strawberry Sunrise today."

"Aw come on, Unc~" Yang whined as Ruby giggled.

* * *

 **Closing Comments.**

 **4.1: Remember, don't arrest innocent dogs…**

 **4.2: Yeah, don't get those wet.**

 **4.3: And so Jibanyan's training in the art of laziness begins.**

 **4.4: Katie/Fumi meets some new friends.**

 **4.5: Wazzat? I can't seem to remember who that is…**

 **4.6: Apparently Sarge didn't take the knowledge that the blue oni was stronger than the red oni very well.**

 **4.7: Noko time!**

 **4.8: Brain Bleach can't solve everything… But it might help.**

 **4.9: Nate/Keita might be spending too much time with Caboose…**

 **4.10: Cheers to Slimamander being befriendable! :D.**

 **4.11: Second movie Expansion has hit, seems Nate/Keita has some things to think about…**

 **4.12: A nice talk between friends.**

 **4.13: Rattle me bones!**

 **4.14: Yeah, when did he get that medal?**

 **4.15: Illuminocti confirmed!**

 **4.16: Inaho and USApyon join the Loops.**

 **4.17: It is kind of confusing…**

 **4.18: Yes, that is rude.**

 **4.19: Ruby, Yang, meet Inaho and USApyon!**

 **4.20: Yes, okay then.**

 **4.21: It's hard to have secrets in the Loops, especially if you're a main character…**

 **4.22: Yeah, maybe Yggdrasil** _ **is**_ **trying to annoy Nate/Keita?**

 **4.23: Whatever Nate/Keita did to end that Loop, it was probably justified…**

 **4.24: The Adventures of Jibanyan and Zwei, coming soon to a theater near you!**

 **4.25: They do kind of look alike…**

 **4.26: Uncle Qrow meets his nephews :).**


	5. The Infinite Tunnel Saga

**Entrance**

"Here we are; the Infinite Tunnel!" Keita announced happily as he, Fumi, Inaho, Whisper, Jibanyan and USApyon stood before it.

"Um, Keita-kun, what exactly are we doing here?" Fumi asked curiously, she had experienced the Infinite Tunnel in the game variants where she was the one whom got the watch, though she didn't really see the point of going into it that much. Honestly, it creeped her out…

"Yeah, it's just a tunnel, I want to do something exciting… Like have a laser fight with the martians!" Inaho exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I keep telling you, there are no martians in our universe! I checked… Dani," USApyon huffed in annoyance.

"Party pooper," Inaho grumbled.

"Excuse me, still talking here," Keita raised his hand, looking a little irritated.

"Carry on," Whisper shrugged.

"Sorry," Fumi bowed, Inaho was grumbling something under her breath.

"Anyway, as we all know, the Infinite Tunnel is a construct of the Game Variant, though we don't yet know if it holds a place in Baseline, it is very interesting, seeing as it changes length and content every time it's entered," the two humans and three yo-kai nodded to this.

"But why did we come here? I'm missing my afternoon cat-nyaaap," Jibanyan yawned, Keita's eyebrow twitched as he looked at him, before continuing.

"I think it would be a fun activity we could all do together, since it's here. We have no idea what we could run into, why not," Keita shrugged with a smile.

"Right, that makes perfect sense for why we should go into a supposedly 'infinite' tunnel. Dani," USApyon muttered sarcastically. Whisper floated over to the Anchor's side.

"But Keita-kun, if that's the case, where are Komasan and Komajiro, I understand why Hikikōmori isn't here, but I'd think those two would be all for this kind of thing. Wissu…"

"I invited them, but they said something about checking out the Bermuda Triangle. So I figured I'd let them do their thing, and we do our thing," Keita shrugged while the others stared at him blankly.

"… Ok, I'm bored of standing around! If we're doing this, let's go!" Inaho exclaimed, before charging ahead into the tunnel.

"Hey! Don't go running off without us! Dani!" USApyon shouted, chasing after her.

"… I was going to have a little more prep time, but no time like the present I guess," Keita shrugged.

"If you say so," Fumi sighed as she followed him into the tunnel. Jibanyan followed shortly after, with Whisper hovering at the tail of the group.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Wissu…"

 **0 meters**

"Darkness! Nothing but darkness!" Jibanyan exclaimed as they walked through the tunnel.

"Come on Jibanyan, there are lights," Keita pointed out with a sigh.

"So, we can't change our minds? Dani," USApyon questioned after a moment.

"No, you can't go back, only forward," Keita stated with a nod, the otter yo-kai shook his head with a slight look of regret.

"Well I just hope we don't run into anything creepy, like…" Fumi trailed off as she glanced around nervously.

"A guy with a dog?" Inaho questioned, pointing to a rather creepy looking guy, standing to one side of the tunnel, with his pet pug dog on a leash…

"Oh great, _him_ ," Fumi groaned and Keita facepalmed.

"What's 'him'? Dani," USApyon questioned with his arms crossed.

"Just don't talk to him, keep moving everyone," Keita said calmly as they moved past him.

"… Tell a tangled tale, the Tangler has you in his grasp," The man suddenly stated, in a rather creepy tone of voice.

"… Ignore him, keep moving," Keita insisted as they kept moving.

"In the Tangler's grasp you are. You can't escape the Tangler…"

"Keep moving!" Keita hissed as they all picked up the pace. Leaving the smiling Tangler behind, with his eyes glowing eerily.

 **100 meters**

"Guys, this doesn't look right…"

"What do you mean, Fumi-chan?" Keita asked curiously.

"Well, for one: there's snow on the ground," Fumi pointed out as their feet crunched against the bits of crushed ice.

"Huh, I hadn't noticed. Dani," USApyon muttered.

"Two: the ceiling is way too high," Fumi pointed up and the others looked, indeed the ceiling was much higher than they remembered it being when they entered the tunnel.

"Hmm, I thought it seemed a bit roomier. Wissu," Whisper nodded.

"Speaking of roomier, 3: the tunnel is too wide, and there are dwarf snow bulborbs over there, looking for food," Fumi pointed to the small, two legged creatures, sniffing around in the snow for anything to eat.

"Actually, that species is just called snow bulborbs, though they're a species of dwarf bulborb," Keita pointed out. Fumi gave him a bored look, while Inaho brought out her phone to take some photos of the creatures.

"Wow, real extra-terrestrials! Right under our noses the whole time!" USApyon facepalmed at her comment.

"Keita-kun, don't you think this is weird?" Fumi asked her friend, concern visible on her face.

"Look Fumi-chan, anything can happen, remember?" Keita offered, though Fumi didn't look satisfied. The boy sighed. "Ok, it'll be fine. Remember, if things become too strange we can just leave through an emergency exit door."

"… What emergency exit doors?" USApyon questioned blankly. Keita looked to the walls of the cave, that were further apart than the ones of the tunnel he was used to, but still, he clearly saw there were no exit doors on either side.

"… Well that can't be good," The Anchor muttered unsurely.

 **200 meters**

"Keita-kun, how are we supposed to get out of here!?" Fumi asked loudly as they continued through the tunnel.

"Same way we're usually supposed to, we keep going till we find the exit," Keita shrugged, Fumi groaned at his attitude while Inaho whistled a cheerful tune. Whisper, Jibanyan and USApyon didn't seem interested in their conversation. Though Jibanyan's ears perked up when he heard a sound.

"That sounded like… a ding?" The nekomata muttered.

"No, more like a 'ping'," USApyon shook his head.

"What exactly are you guys talking about?" Keita asked with a raised brow. A few more noises were heard before they looked to see what was causing them; Mario collecting coins, stomping goombas, and smashing bricks, just a few feet to the side of them.

"Oh, hey Mario," Keita waved, causing the red clad plumber to stop and stare at them. Inaho took a picture with her phone.

"Huh? What are you-a kids doing here?"

"We're going through a tunnel," Whisper shrugged.

"AH! A boo!" Mario exclaimed in surprise, Whisper twitched.

"I'm not a boo!"

"Oh, so-a sorry. It's dark," Mario shrugged.

"Why are you in here?" Fumi asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm-a just on my way to Bowser's castle, in fact I see the pipe that will lead me out of this-a cave right over there. Bye, bye!" Mario waved before he entered the pipe.

"Hey! A way out!" Fumi exclaimed happily and tried to follow after the plumber… only to find that she was blocked by an invisible wall. "HUH!?"

"Huh, looks like we can't leave the dimensions the tunnel originally had," Whisper muttered with his arms crossed.

"Oh come on!" Fumi cried out angrily.

"Ok, that's kind of annoying, but no matter. Let's just keep going," Keita insisted with a sigh as they continued on their set path.

 **300 meters**

The tunnel had seemingly returned to its original form as the group continued on their trek, though the emergency exit doors were still missing. The atmosphere also seemed to hold an air of uneasiness.

*plop!*

"… What was that?" Fumi asked, nervously glancing back and into the darkness.

"I think it was just some water dripping," Keita shrugged, though this didn't seem to make Fumi feel any better.

"Oh don't worry about it, we're in a tunnel. What could happen," Inaho chuckled.

"You mean other than any variety of random things, or did you forget about the bulborbs and plumber already? Dani," USApyon glared at Inaho.

"Dwarf bulborbs are actually a type of breadbug, you know," Whisper pointed out confidently.

"Nobody cares," Jibanyan scoffed, Whisper face-faulted.

"Hey! I didn't even look at the Yo-Kai Pad for that! Show some respect! Wissu!"

"Shh!" Fumi snapped, before placing her hand to her ears and looking behind them again. "…"

*plop!*

Each member of the group jumped a little (except for the floating Whisper) and looked where Fumi was staring. They all felt like something was staring back at them.

"Something's… there," Keita admitted, subconsciously reaching for his sub-space pocket, ready to pull out Spectral Fang at a moment's notice.

"I told you," Fumi hissed, standing close to her friends as they all stared into the darkness.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, wissu. Just some dropping water like Keita-kun said. We have nothing to worry about. Wissu," Whisper waved off the concerns. The others were almost considering agreeing with him when nothing seemed to be happening, when suddenly something could be seen approaching from the darkness.

"Is that… kids?" Inaho asked, making out what looked like two children's faces, staring at them in the darkness.

"Kids… Well I did say there was nothing to worry about, just some adventurous children like you all," Whisper huffed. However Jibanyan's fur stood up while Keita stood in a battle ready pose, Fumi took a step back and USApyon held his blaster ready.

"Something's nyot right," Jibanyan almost hissed, taking a four legged stance as he glared at the 'kids.' Suddenly the two kids faces rose up, higher than should have been possible, more of the form became visible.

A few startled gasps, or sounds of disgust came from the group as they saw that the 'kid's' heads were not attached to human bodies, but long, spindly spider legs! A giant spider lurched forward, a human head where each of its feet should be.

"W-Whisper, what is that thing!? A yo-kai!?" Keita asked, a look of shock on his face, Spectral Fang already pulled from his pocket.

"Um, well," Whisper sweated a little as he moved to pull out his Yo-Kai Pad. The creatures slowly crawled its way towards the group, however before anyone could make any moves against the bizarre spider, Fumi grabbed a hold of all of them and started charging through the tunnel.

"NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! SO MUCH NOPE!"

 **400 meters wildrook**

Fumi then groaned. "I think we lost them," she muttered.

"Fumi," Keita said, "when our life is constantly a horror story, never invoke that."

Inaho just shushed them as they heard some ominous dripping. Like water.

"Nyan..." Jibanyan muttered. "Bad enough I'm born from a cat and go through fire, but we're about to experience some serious trouble."

Whisper blinked. "I don't think that's ordinary water, either," he muttered.

And Whisper, who was a Wiki Hound, was correct. The dripping was followed by something rolling on the ground...as a being that resembled a cross between a giant blob and a steamroller had brought itself into view.

"WATERWAITH!" Whisper yelled.

And if Whisper had managed to recognize the bane of Olimar and Louie instantly, something was wrong.

"RUN LIKE CHILDREN! DANI!" USApyon yelled.

"WE ARE CHILDREN, YOU DOLT!" Inaho retorted, the others running like hell.

 **500 meters**

Fumi let out a few breaths as their running slowed. "Ok, this time I think we-"

" _Don't_ finish that sentence!" Keita snapped, everyone else gave a few sighs of relief.

"Crisis-averted," Inaho groaned. Fumi shook her head.

"Seriously guys, don't be so superstitious."

"Maybe you should be a little more superstitious when dealing with yo-kai. Wissu," Whisper pointed out, Fumi glared at him briefly and let out a huff.

"Whisper's right Fumi-chan," Keita interjected.

"I am?" Whisper blinked in surprise. "I mean… of course I am! Wissu!"

"You need to be careful, our Baseline may seem all nice and friendly, but anything at any moment could go wrong due to supernatural interference," Keita stepped forward, not noticing a hole opening up in the floor just in front of him. "And in this tunnel we have no idea what could happen. We need to watch our every–"

"Keita-kun! Look out!" Fumi called, just a little too late as Keita took one step too many.

"–STEEEEP!" the Anchor cried as he fell down the hole. The three yo-kai and two remaining humans stared in shock, wincing when the sound of Keita's body hitting the button of the hole was heard. A few moments of silence passed, before a small, blue yo-kai floated out of the hole and glared at them.

"Nobody. Say. Anything," Fuu2 hissed before he turned and began floating further down the tunnel, the others silently followed, careful to avoid the mysterious hole.

 **600 meters**

The group continued walking (or floating, in Whisper and Fuu2's cases) in silence, nobody wanting to point out their Anchor's previous misstep, or subsequent change of form. Suddenly some rustling could be heard, before a large amount of shapes could be seen approaching.

"Namekichi! Namekichi! Namekichi!" the large crowd of mushroom-like creatures, which the group recognized from the keychain Inaho often compared USApyon to, repeated as they stumbled passed and into the darkness of the path they had come from, leaving them somewhat bewildered.

"… Inaho, what _is_ a Namekichi anyway?" Fuu2 questioned one of the only humans present, she moved to get something from her pocket. "And don't just bring out that keychain of yours without any other explanation!" the girl halted her action and froze for a minute in thought. Before she just pointed at USApyon.

"Ok, seriously!? I am not a Namekichi! Dani!" USApyon cried out in anger.

 **700 meters**

The walls of the tunnel had turned into a cave once more; cave walls that seemed to seep tree sap, much of which long hardened into amber.

"Wow… Look at this," Inaho looked in awe at a perfectly preserved stegosaurus within a big casing of amber.

"Dinyasaurs?" Jibanyan tapped the amber prison of a raptor.

"This is incredible," Fumi muttered.

"Meh, after seeing living dinosaurs, this is kind of underwhelming," Fuu2 admitted, looking at an encased t-rex. "Still cool though, I guess." They continued to look at the prehistoric creatures that were frozen in time for a bit, almost as if this were a museum. Whisper hovered slightly ahead to see if there was anything else trapped in amber, when he spotted something… out of place.

"Um, guys," Whisper caught all of their attention, they all turned their eyes to a chunk of amber that Whisper was looking at… that looked like something had broken out of.

"… Well this has all been really interesting, but I think we should get a move on. Dani," USApyon said a little nervously.

"Um, yeah. I think I've seen enough dinosaurs today," Inaho chuckled, looking a bit nervous herself. The others nodded as they shuffled forward. A few of the dinosaurs noticeably twitched behind their prisons of amber, the team picked up their pace.

 **800 meters**

The tunnel had changed from a cave seeping sap, to one of bone white stone. The group continued walking, occasionally glancing around nervously.

"Something about these walls seems… off," Fuu2 muttered as he floated in the front of the group.

"You're being paranoid, there doesn't seem anything here too bad," Inaho shrugged. As they walked, Jibanyan stopped and stared at something blankly for a moment.

"Um… guys… look, nya," they looked at what the nekomata was pointing at, and saw it was what appeared to be a humanoid figure, trapped within the bone walls.

"Hmm, what a strange rock formation," Whisper commented cluelessly. The others briefly glared at him.

"Yeah, I think we should pick up the pace a bit," Fumi decided, Keita, Jibanyan and USApyon nodding in agreement.

"Again?" Inaho groaned. The sound of something moving closer to them, slowly caught their attention. The two humans and four yo-kai looked back, only to see a giant, blue slug monster, with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, slowly slithering towards them, looking like it wanted to eat them.

"Run again! Dani!" USApyon shouted, nobody argued with the otter's exclamation.

As they ran they passed what seemed to be an elevator in the wall, filled with dinosaurs, but nobody stopped to check, not wanting to give the slug monster any chance to catch up to them.

"… What was that?" Sabre questioned from in the elevator.

 **900 meters**

The group slowly stopped running and breathed a little, noticing the tunnel had returned to being a normal tunnel.

"That was… something," Fuu2 muttered with a weak smile.

"I knew this was a horrible idea! We're never getting out of here! Dani!" USApyon shouted in rage and fear as he ran around in circles.

"Oh, calm down USApyon, even if we never find our way out of the tunnel, the Loop will end eventually," Inaho said with a light-hearted shrug. The space suit wearing yo-kai glared at her.

"Arguing will get us nowhere," Fumi suddenly interjected with a serious look on her face.

"She's right, we need to keep calm and keep going, I'm sure the exit isn't too far ahead, wissu," Whisper assured confidently, the ghost butler was met with a few skeptical looks, particularly from Fuu2 and Jibanyan, but he took no notice of them. Before anything else was said the group came across two little twin girls, with pigtails in their hair. They seemed to be staring right into their souls.

"Let's play…"

"Let's play…" The two spoke identically, one after the other.

"Do something fun…"

"Do something fun…"

"… Um, thank you, but no," Fuu2 said, he along with his companions looking a bit creeped out, they carefully walked around the twins as the two silently kept their eyes on them, before quickly heading further into the tunnel once they had gotten around them.

 **1000 meters**

The group continued walking through the dark tunnel, when the sound of a train approaching caused them to halt, surely enough, a steam train came out of the shadows ahead and stopped in front of them…

"How did a train get into this tunnel?" Inaho questioned.

"… Really? You're asking how a train got into this tunnel? After the freaking Waterwraith!? Dani!" USApyon pointed out, irritation in his voice. Before an argument could break out, a man in a conductor uniform, with a friendly smile on his face exited the train and stood in front of them.

"Hello there, were you kids lookin' for the Infinite Railroad by chance?"

"Um…" Fumi looked for something to say, but the conductor spoke again before she could

"'Cause you found it! Our destination's a mystery, but it's a free ride! Wanna come aboard?" The small group found this strange person's cheery demeanor a little earie.

"Um… should we...?" Fumi looked to Fuu2 for guidance, whom was shaking his head.

"No, I've encountered this before in the normal game variant Infinite Tunnels, don't trust him," Fuu2 hissed under his breath.

"He'll likely just send us back to the beginning…" Whisper sighed, the others nodded before looking back at the conductor.

"Um… thank you, but we're okay on our own," Fumi assured as politely as she could. The conductor didn't lose his smile.

"Okay then, maybe next time!" he climbed back aboard the train, some steam emitted from it before it started up again… and moved backwards into the darkness of the tunnel ahead.

"Well, that might've been even creepier than those twins, nya," Jibanyan sighed before they continued forward.

 **1100 meters**

"Hey, you," the group halted in their walking and looked down… and saw a chicken staring at them.

"Did that chicken just talk? Dani…" USApyon questioned blankly.

"Yes, yes it did," Fumi sighed.

"Excuse me, I'm sure you've eaten some of my relatives before," the chicken said calmly.

"Wha...?" Inaho blinked.

"Well this just took a disturbing turn," Fuu2 grumbled.

"And I get it, I'm a chicken after all," The chicken nodded as it glanced between the yo-kai and humans. "But I just have one question… Were they delicious?"

"Um…" Whisper looked confused, as did the others. "Yes, they were…?"

"… Oh well, that's good to hear, I hope somebody eats me with tasty hot sauce someday," The chicken nodded before moving on its way. The group watched the chicken disappear into the darkness of the tunnel that they had previously walked through in silence.

"… I want to get out of here," Fumi hissed under her breath before they all kept moving.

 **1200 meters**

The group came across a little Michibiki (or Leadoni) in their path.

"This way! This way!" The small oni exclaimed, waving its long arm back and forth, before running ahead, into the darkness. The Loopers looked to each other and shrugged before following.

 **1300 meters**

"This way! This way!" The Michibiki called, stopping for a moment to make sure they were keeping up, before continuing to run ahead.

"It's not like there's any other way to go, nya," Jibanyan muttered as they continued to follow.

 **1400 meters**

"This way! This way!" The tiny yo-kai felt the need to check if they were still following before continuing, again.

"I don't think I trust this guy," Fumi sighed.

"I don't either," Fuu2 crossed his arms.

"Oh, come on guys, where's your sense of adventure?" Inaho questioned, following the Michibiki excitedly.

 **1500 meters**

"Wonder what you'll get?" the Michibiki said, before popping into a burst of smoke, which revealed a yellow chest, with an eye on it.

"Oh, cool!" Inaho exclaimed, reaching down to touch the chest, when it suddenly grew a pair of long, humanoid legs, and kicked Inaho in the shin, before running off. "OW!" the purple-haired girl shouted, holding her leg in pain.

"What the!? That doesn't even happen in our game-variant! Dani!" USApyon shouted in confusion. The others sweatdropped.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted that thing…" Fumi muttered.

 **1600 meters**

The group found themselves in some sort of cave, there were also strange, cat-dog-like creatures standing around.

"hOI! i'm tEMMIE!" one of them shouted excitedly.

"What in the world?" Fuu2 questioned, as some of the other creatures gave identical greetings…

Whisper noticed a large, blue mushroom and floated over to it.

"What's this thing? Wissu," Whisper questioned, poking the mushroom's cap, the fungus seemed to spring to lie and started shaking back and forth.

"Mushroom dance. Mushroom dance. Whatever could it mean?" it sang, before the mushroom's cap lifted to reveal to squinted eyes, glaring at Whisper. "It means you've lived a life of sin."

"… Guys, I think we should get moving, wiss…" Whisper said nervously, the others nodded, trying to avoid making eye contact with the 'Temmies'…

 **1700 meters**

"Look! Dinosaur people!" Inaho cheered, pointing towards the dinosaur-like beings that were watching them, some looking like big eyed raptors with feathers on their heads, and others looking similar to odd combinations of ankylosaurs and pachycephalosaurus.

"This is kind of nerve-wrecking," Fumi muttered uncomfortably.

"Everything in this tunnel is kind of nerve-wrecking," Fuu2 muttered blandly.

"Kind of in agreement, nya," Jibanyan nodded.

"It was your idea to come here in the first place, dani," USApyon grunted.

"Um, perhaps we should keep moving, whiss," Whisper interjected before Keita could give a retort, noting some of the dinosaur-creatures were looking aggressive, a few even had spears!

"Oh, this could be an interesting chance to study subterranean dinosaurian species!" Inaho cheered, but the others quickly pulled her along. "Hey!"

 **1800 meters**

"Aw, look how cute," Fumi gushed, looking down at a few gopher-like creatures, that shuffled forward with their wing-like forelimbs.

"I'm cuter, nya," Jibanyan scoffed as Fuu2 hovered by one of them that was chirping.

"Do they have beaks?"

"Obviously, these are birds that have evolved to live underground! Yes!" Inaho exclaimed, looking down at the creatures with a big grin.

"Stop saying stupid things! Dani!" USApyon snapped, dragging Inaho forward and passed the small creatures.

"USApyon! Let go!" she protested. The others shortly continued after them.

 **1900 meters wildrook**

Keita/Fuu2 had noticed something rather off about this place, and most of the other Yokai had managed to feel the same way.

"Something wrong?" Fumi asked them.

"Do you know the feeling of something walking over your grave, whis?" Whisper replied, then realized what happened to Keita. "No offense, Keita-kun."

Fuu2 shook his head. "No, I feel it, too," he said. "It's just less literal."

"Nya..." Jibanyan muttered, shivering. "Feels like Terror time all over again."

"And the Waterwaith," USApyon muttered. "Don't forget that. Dani."

However, Inaho was distracted.

"Keita, Fumi," she muttered, "have any of you ran into a wall that's able to breathe before?"

Both of them had noticed a wall that had pictures of scantily-clad males with horns... which wouldn't look too out of place in their world if it wasn't for the mostly humanoid appearance.

"Depends on what you mean by breathing," Fuu2 muttered. "I've seen a few with wandering eyes, at least."

However, that's when the picture of the man on the far right started shifted... no... waking up.

"KEITA!" Fumi yelled, trying to pull him back. It didn't go unheard as he literally phased through Fumi. "Ugh... forgot about that."

Jibanyan, however, managed to pull Fumi back. "That's no Yo-kai we know, nyan," he muttered.

While they didn't expect, however, was the man to turn back to the remaining "statues."

"WHAMMU!" he yelled, striking a pose as his index fingers made contact with the others. "AWAKEN MY MASTERS! THE TIME HAS COME!"

And that's when the other two gained color to their formerly stone skin, with all three of them posing fabulously.

"All in favor of using your legs," Fuu2 muttered, remembering these three, "floating very quickly, or flying, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

They didn't need to be told twice as the three recently revived Pillar Men just looked at them with confusion. They had no idea their reputation was still active to this present day.

 **2000 meters**

"Okay, I think we're safe again…" Fumi sighed as the group slowed down, before getting a look at their current location. "What the?" she looked confused as they seemed to have walked through a glass wall and into a giant fish tank.

"Huh?" Fuu2 blinked, he didn't need to breathe right now, but he noticed Fumi and Inaho weren't having any issues.

"No! I don't like soggy fur!" Jibanyan ran around briefly, before he noticed his fur wasn't getting wet. "Nya?"

"Odd, we're clearly in water. But we don't seem to be getting wet, whis," Whisper pointed out, waving his arm around to demonstrate his point.

"Hmm… this is certainly a mystery of previously unheard of proportion," Inaho nodded with a serious look on her face.

"Don't start! Dani!" USApyon snapped at the human.

"Hey!" they all blinked, before looking up to see… a giant fish, with a human man's face, swimming above them… "What the heck? Where did you tiny humans and… creatures come from?"

"Hi Seaman," Fuu2 greeted casually. The others in his group, and the creature called 'Seaman' looked confused.

"Keita-kun, you know this… guy?" Fumi asked carefully.

"Keita?" Seaman blinked, looking at the blue ghost floating before him. "… You've lost weight."

"Yeah, everyone said that," Fuu2 waved before they continued, Seaman watching as they left. "Good seeing you, but we need to get out of this tunnel!"

"Okay then," Seaman nodded, before sighing once he was alone again. "Well, back to… swimming in a tank…"

 **2100 meters**

The tunnel had now started to resemble some sort of stone cavern, Inaho looked around in wonder.

"Wow, I bet we're on the verge of an amazing discovery! This sort of setting is always where you find amazing artifacts or creatures!" the glasses-wearing girl cheered excitedly, the others didn't look as interested.

"It's just a cave Inaho, stop being so excited about being trapped in this tunnel! Dani!" USApyon hissed angrily.

"No need to get so hostile Chibi, she's just making the most of it," Fuu2 sighed as he hovered by the otter yo-kai.

"You don't get to call me that! You're the one who got us to come in here in the first place! Dani!" USApyon snapped.

"Hey, don't blame me. How was I supposed to know the tunnel would go crazy or whatever?" the blue spirit questioned with a glare.

"Shh!" Inaho shushed them, before pointing up at a higher ledge in the cavern, where some sort of a pink aardvark-like creature, dressed in some blue cloths, tapped on the top of some kind of mound, the top of it opened up and a green dragon-like creature came out and took a metal pot from the pink creature. "Aliens…"

The two noticed them, the aardvark-like creature made a few whistling noises and tilted its head curiously, the dragon creature made some gargling-sounding noises before it ducked into its home.

"This is strange, whiss," Whisper muttered.

"Considering everything… nyo, nyot really, nya," Jibanyan shook his head. The blue garbed creature made a few more whistling noises before the dragon one came back out of the hole and handed it the pot back, which was now filled with some sort of green liquid. The pink creature nodded before placing the pot on a wagon and pulling it away.

"I don't know what to make of that…" Fumi muttered.

"I told you, it's aliens!" Inaho giggled, Fumi sweadropped at how excited she seemed.

"Let's just continue," Fuu2 sighed. The dragon creature watched impassively as the group of foreigners walked forward, a smaller dragon creature popped out of another mound and made a few curious, gargling sounds. The larger creature looked at the smaller one and shook its head.

 **2200 meters**

The path in the cavern eventually led them into what seemed to be a garden. There were many strange plants around, and another pink aardvark creature tending to them, not unlike the first one, though this one was a little larger and dressed in red.

"Look, they know how to cultivate plants!" Inaho exclaimed, taking a photo with her phone.

"Shut up! Dani!" USApyon shouted, the gardening creature noticed them and looked confused, making a few whistling noises.

"Oh, it's trying to communicate!" Inaho nodded.

"Come on Inaho, we should just leave 'em alone, they're obviously busy," Fuu2 sighed, Fumi nodded in agreement.

"Aw…" the purple-haired girl sighed as the pushed on, the pink creature just watched in confusion.

 **2300 meters**

"What is this?" Fumi questioned, staring at a hole in the wall of the cavern filled with water, but the water wasn't flowing out, it was like some kind of vertical pond.

"Hmm, the aliens seem to have created a way to change gravity," Inaho nodded to herself, USApyon sighed and shook his head.

"I don't know, but I think we should just keep moving," Fuu2 muttered. A little sound alerted the group to movement in the water, they looked and were surprised to see three, little orange, frog-like creatures swimming in the water.

"Ah, more indigenous lifeforms… we need samples!" Inaho started to run towards the amphibians, but she was restrained by USApyon.

"NO!" the otter yo-kai shouted, Inaho complained as she was pulled along with the rest of the group.

 **2400 meters**

They came to another part of the cavern that was more well-lit, the two pink creatures they had seen before were seated at a table with three more similar creatures. The smallest made a few whistling noises when they looked towards them.

"What have we walked into? Nya," Jibayan asked while scratching his head, the group noted that each creature had a mug of the green substance that the blue clad one had gotten from the dragon earlier.

"Hmm, what could this ritual be?" Inaho questioned, adjusting her glasses. USApyon started pulling her again.

"Hey!"

"… Sorry to disturb your meal," Fuu2 said as he and Fumi bowed, Whisper and Jibanyan shrugged before they all moved forward. The family of strange creatures looked at each other in confusion over what had just happened.

 **2500 meters**

"Darn! Why couldn't you guys just let me observe the aliens!?" Inaho complained as they walked through what appeared to be the inside of a volcano.

"Shut up," USApyon growled.

"But– "

"NO!" USApyon snapped at Inaho, whom went quiet after that outburst. The others opted to keep out of the conflict.

"Weird…" Fuu2 noted, seeing several jail cells with… humanoids made from rings? Stripes? The group payed no heed to the blue blur that ran by as they continued.

 **2600 meters**

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Fumi muttered as they traveled through a narrower passageway, the ground seemed a little damp, and large footsteps could be heard above them.

"Trust me Fumika, there's nothing to worry about. My butler's intuition says we're completely safe," Whisper assured confidently.

"Butler's intuition?" Fumi questioned with a skeptical look, she glanced towards Fuu2.

"… Fine, I'll check," the Anchor sighed, Fumi smiled in thanks while Whisper crossed his arms with a huff. Fuu2 peeked out of a hole in the top of the passageway and looked out into what seemed to be a kitchen… for giants. His eyes widened slightly when he saw two, vary large, vary fat chefs with saggy, sack-like skin.

They marched around the kitchen, alternating between chopping into huge chunks of bloody meat and washing dishes, occasionally checking an oven. Fuu2 slowly sunk back into the passageway.

"… Keita-kun?" Fumi questioned in concern.

"What did you see, nya?" Jibanyan asked. Fuu2 just shook his head.

"Nope!" he started floating ahead.

"Keita?" Whisper looked confused.

"Nope!" the blue ghost insisted as he kept moving forward. Inaho peeked out the opening briefly.

"Huh, interesting," she muttered as she walked to catch up to the others whom were trying to catch up to Fuu2. USApyon considered looking up the opening also.

"… Nah, better not tempt fate, dani," he shook his head before following the others.

 **2700 meters**

"… So, anyone know any word games?" Everyone turned to stare at Inaho. "What? Just trying to think of a way to pass the time."

"Well don't, we just need to keep going," Fuu2 said while shaking his spectral body in a negative way. Inaho huffed and crossed her arms.

"No fun guy, you're the no fun-guy…"

"I'm the already dead-guy!" Fuu2 exclaimed in aggravation, Inaho stuck out her tongue at him.

"And who's fault is that?" The purple haired girl and blue ghost glared at each other for a couple more seconds.

"Um, where did this argument come from?" Fumi asked the other yo-kai with a concerned look on her face.

"Getting lost in a seemingly endless tunnel would do it… Dani," USApyon muttered in an unconcerned tone. Jibanyan looked at the ground, and noted that it was covered in a strange, black resin-like substance. He blinked and his ears twitched as he heard some hissing.

"Um, guys? Nya…"

"Stupid dead no fun-guy! Stupid dead no fun-guy!" Inaho mocked, Fuu2 seethed.

"Idiot!"

"Keita-kun, there's no need for that, whiss," Whisper tried to get the Anchor to calm down.

"Guys! Nya," Jibanyan noted the same substance was on the tunnel walls, and something was coming towards them…

"Seriously, we shouldn't be fighting now. Especially not about something so petty," Fumi said, getting between Inaho and Fuu2.

"Fumi's my new best friend!" Inaho announced, grabbing the other girl's arm.

"Huh?" Fumi blinked in confusion.

"Because you're being the no fun-guy right now!"

"When was I ever your best friend?" Fuu2 muttered bluntly.

"Not anymore!"

"Never was…"

"What about me? Dani…" USApyon questioned.

"Guys! NYA!" Jibanyan shouted, everyone finally turned to him to see what he was pointing at. "We've got xenomorphs!" Several of the alien creatures crawled on the walls and growled at them.

"Oh! Come on!" Fuu2 shouted.

"Run once again!" Every one picked up speed as the xenomorphs gave pursuit.

"PK Fire!" Fumi shouted, shooting a blast of flames at the pursuing aliens.

"I lied! You're still my best friend! I'm sorry!" Inaho cried as she latched onto Fuu2.

"Get off me!" the ghost yelled in distress.

"… What about me? Dani…" USApyon questioned again.

"I know how you feel, whiss," Whisper sighed as he floated beside the otter yo-kai.

 **2800 meters**

"Darnit! I'm tired of getting chased by things in this stupid tunnel! Dani!" USApyon exclaimed in frustration.

"Tell me about it…" Fumi sighed, looking fatigued from the previous chase.

"The important thing is; we're still alive!" Inaho exclaimed in a cheerful manner. Fuu2, Jibanyan, Whisper and USApyon all exchanged annoyed looks while Fumi scratched her head with a sweatdrop.

A hiss was heard from behind, causing the group to stiffen a little. They turned and saw another xenomorph stalking towards them, but not just any xenomorph, a _queen_ …

"Really!?" Fumika shouted in aggravation, the alien queen roared in a threatening manner before it started charging. The group prepared to run again…

Only for the xenomorph queen's head to be sliced off in a clean motion, carefully so no acid blood splashed on the group. They looked up to see Fuu2 hovering above, Spectral Fang out in scythe mode.

"… I was sick of running too," the Anchor stated plainly, the others nodded blankly before they continued.

 **2900 meters**

The tunnel had now retaken the appearance of a cave.

"Whenever this tunnel changes shape I get nervous, whiss," Whisper shuddered.

"Ditto," Fumi sighed.

"There's nyo pokémon here, nya," Jibanyan pointed out, the others looked at him blankly. "… What?" As the group continued, they soon found a man in orange armor… sleeping in the cave.

"… Grif?" Fuu2 blinked at the sight of his brother. "What's he doing here?"

"Hahaha," Inaho giggled as she poked the snoring soldier, Fuu2 slapped her hand away.

"Stop!"

"Should we wake him?" Fumi asked in concern.

"Wake him? Yeah, I don't think that's possible," Fuu2 shook as head as he looked at his slumbering sibling. "He'll be fine."

"Master Grif truly is a paragon of lazynyess," Jibanyan praised with a bow.

"Come on," Fuu2 sighed, grabbing hold of Jibanyan's paw as they continued forward.

"Alright! I'm coming, you don't have to grab me! Nya."

"*snore* I… I don't wanna babysit Tucker's kid… he bites *snore*" Grif muttered in his sleep as he turned a little.

 **3000 meters**

"Freeze dirtbags!"

"I SURRENDER! WHIS!" Whisper shouted, throwing his arms into the air.

"… Sarge?" Fumi questioned, the red armored soldier lowered his shotgun as he looked over the children and yo-kai.

"What the, what are you all doing here? I thought you were the blues!"

"Nah, we're just lost in a tunnel," Inaho shrugged with a giggle.

"It's really not funny," USApyon sighed.

"I'm looking for that no-good Grif, I'm sure he's hiding in this cave to avoid work," Sarge explained with a hint of anger in his tone.

"Grif? Hiding from work? How uncharacteristic of him," Fuu2 muttered sarcastically.

"Gah! A blue ghost!" Sarge exclaimed, as if just noticing the Anchor's presence, before firing his shotgun straight through the star-shaped hole in Fuu2's midsection. The other tunnel-travelers stared in shock at what just happened, Fuu2 just looked annoyed.

"… Sarge, shooting me directly in a hole that goes through my body aside, do you even understand the concept of a _ghost_?"

"Well um…" Sarge stared at them for a few moments, before apparently giving up. "Ah who cares! I have a dirtbag to find!" he exclaimed, and charged forward the way they had come.

"I thought _we_ were dirtbags?" Inaho questioned, almost sounding disappointed, USApyon just grumbled something with a scowl.

 **3100 meters**

The tunnel was still a cave, the group walked without much interest in their surroundings… before a zubat popped out in front of them and screamed at them.

"Move!" Keita pushed the bat pokémon aside without much effort, the others didn't comment on this as they continued, but it wasn't more than three steps later that another zubat appeared, screaming the same as the first.

"Leave us alone! Nya!" Jibanyan pushed the bat aside, without harming it, before they kept moving.

"I swear, you can't go three steps without running into one of those things…" Keita muttered in annoyance.

"Aren't you exaggerating? Whiss," Whisper questioned, only for another zubat to pop up, startling him. "Gah! Never mind… whissu…."

 **3200 meters**

"AKU!" The samurai shouted in anger, slashing at the embodiment of evil with the magical sword.

The two fought viciously, Aku taking various shapes to try and get the better of the samurai, whom took every opportunity he could to hit the creature of darkness with his blade. Finally, after a long, grueling battle, it looked as if the samurai had won.

The warrior held his blade ready for the final strike against Aku.

"You may think you've won, Samurai. But I can assure you that– "the shadowy creature stopped speaking when a child's voice interrupted his thoughts. Both combatants blinked in confusion, before they spotted two children, two ghosts, a two-tailed cat, and some sort of yellow armored… thing, wandering through Aku's lair.

"Okay, I'm telling you none of this looks right! Dani!" USApyon snapped angrily.

"Of course, none of it looks right, it hasn't been right for a while now," Fuu2 sighed with his arms crossed.

"Let's just keep moving, I'm sure we'll find our way out eventually," Fumi assured with a nervous smile. Aku and the samurai kept watching as the strange group passed through, without even giving them a glance. The samurai snapped out of his confusion first, and took the moment to land the final strike on the still confused Aku.

"No wait! I was about to– "Aku came back to reality too late, and was eliminated then and there.

 **3300 meters**

The tunnel had changed again, like a forest encaged by foliage, only slight bits of sunlight peeking in between the leaves.

"Are we out?" Fumi asked hopefully.

"Doubtful, we still can't stray from the tunnel's path, whissu," Whisper sighed, Fumi drooped as they continued.

"We just need to keep going," Fuu2 muttered, hovering above the others' heads. They all passed a large, sleeping furry form without noticing it, except for Inaho, whom stopped and started poking it.

"Um… hello?" the bespectacled girl question, the large lump of gray fur twitched a little, letting out a big breath, turning over, it's whiskers twitching, big round eyes staring at the girl curiously…

"Inaho! Come on! Dani!" USApyon called form further ahead. Inaho blinked before following the others, waving goodbye to the creature as she did.

The totoro let out a yawn after the girl had left, curling up to go back to sleep…

 **3400 meters**

The aesthetic of tunnel had become like that of an abandoned, sci-fi spaceship. Inaho was looking around in excitement as everyone else trudged forward with varying levels of nervousness.

"Are you sure we didn't take a wrong turn or something? Wissu…" Whisper questioned, flinching a little when he heard movement.

"How could we have taken a wrong turn? There are no turns," Fuu2 pointed out, bluntly.

"Oh, right… wiss…" Whisper scratched his head in embarrassment. Fumi shivered a little as she looked around.

"I don't like this… this is like one of those horror movies my parents wouldn't let me watch," she muttered nervously.

"I know! Isn't it awesome!?" Inaho exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"Everyone just keep calm, we can handle whatever shows up, dani," USApyon insisted, Jibanyan nodded with a 'nya' as he scratched his ear.

"He's right, let's just keep going, it will probably change again soon," Fuu2 nodded, hovering ahead. A screeching sound was heard, causing most of the group to stiffen.

When several floating, green jelly-fish like creatures with fangs started approaching them however, they quickly moved to offensive positions.

"Metroids!? SO COOL!" Inaho squealed, the others looked at her like she was insane as they prepared their weapons, or other methods of combat.

However, before any of them could take action, a few well aimed energy blasts took the alien lifeforms out. The two humans and four yo-kai blinked in surprise, before an armored figure stepped over, holding her arm-cannon out.

"… Samus?" Fumi tilted her head questioningly.

"I know I already said this, but; SO COOL!" Inaho shouted again. Samus stared at them for a few seconds, before leaving through another corridor.

"… And we shall now continue," Fuu2 muttered blankly.

 **4000 meters Archeo Lumiere**

The tunnel returned to being completely normal. The assorted Loopers looked around anxiously, as completely normal parts of the tunnel tended to have potential threats within. Fuu2 and Fumi had their eyes peeled, when USAPyon heard a strange noise coming from behind them.

"Is that... you Keita-kun, dani?" USAPyon asked, his ears twitching.

A moment passed, and Jibanyan's ears twitched too. "It is your voice, nyan. But who has your body, nyan?"

As everyone turned around, the source of the voice became apparent, and yet even more confusing; it was indeed Keita's body, but it was running towards them at speeds far above average.

"Hey! I figured you might want this back!" 'Keita' shouted. As he reached the group he skidded a halt, before saluting cheerfully. "Tamashī Daitobu, at your service," he claimed. "I'd be happy to give your body back, but I kinda need one of my own," he said sheepishly, "my spirit wound up bound in a marble somehow, and I need to be in something to function at all."

"I have somethin'yan!" Jibanyan called out, before going and rummaging in Inaho's backpack. "I got a bunch of these in a Bleach Loop a while ago, for times when I want to be human for a little bit, nyan..." at this, a cunning smirk crossed the nekomata's face, as he sent out a Ping, "but you know all about Gigai, right Kon, yan?"

A look of betrayal crossed Daitobu's, or more accurately, Kon's face, before he just gave a sigh. "At least you're not putting me in a lion right now, what have you got?" Kon asked defeatedly, giving a sigh and returning the Ping.

Akamaru pulled out a small sack at this point, before pouring out its contents, which were rapidly inflating. When it finished , the cat Yo-kai gave a grand flourish. "May I present to you, my custom Gigai, nyan."

The Gigai in question around the same height as the other Looping humans, had bright red hair and hazel eyes. It was wearing a red t-shirt a white hoodie with yellow cuffs, khaki pants, and red hiking boots with yellow socks. Adorning is wrists were a number of bracelets, it wore several pins, two bobby pins in its hair, and a necklace similar to Jibanyan's bell.

"Nyow, how are you getting out of there, nyan?" Jibanyan asked, honestly confused, before a thought occurred to him. "Fumi, could you put your hand over Kon's mouth, nyan?"

"Sure, I guess," she responded, doing as asked.

"Good, nyow..." he began charging up an attack at this, before USAPyon got upset.

"Grrr, this is taking way too long! VADER MODE!" he shouted, switching to the aforementioned mode and hitting Keita's body in the stomach.

"Oh, I have it!" Fumi exclaimed, before putting the marble in the Gigai's mouth.

As the Gigai woke up, Kon started talking again. "Thanks a lot guys, I got mixed in with slingshot ammunition, and some kid decided to shoot me into this tunnel. Anyway, I'm off to live a nice life this loop, see you in school, probably."

"See ya! (Dani/Whis/Nyan)" the various Loopers said to the far older Looper, and they continued on their trek.

 **4100 meters**

The tunnel had now shifted into a cave with many mirror like surfaces and crystals.

"This is kind of nice," Fumi admitted, glancing at one of the mirror-like walls.

"Kind of familiar," Keita muttered, stretching a bit and feeling happy to have his body back.

"I'm thinking these crystals may be an important resource for an alien race, we should be cautious," Inaho said seriously as she looked at one of the crystals.

"Don't be stupid! Dani!" USApyon exclaimed in frustration.

"Huh?" Jibanyan looked over and spotted some familiar faces traveling nearby. "Oh, hiya Pikachu, nya!"

"… Oh, hi Jibanyan!" the electric mouse Pokémon greeted from atop his trainer's shoulder.

"Did Pikachu just talk?" the long haired girl about Ash's age asked blankly.

"Ash? Pikachu?" Keita blinked when he noticed the Pokémon Loopers and their traveling companions, whom he recognized as Serena, Bonnie and Clemont. "What's up?"

"I'm wondering that too, we didn't get a Ping from you guys earlier," Ash pointed out, much to the confusion of his non-Looping companions.

"We started in our own Loop, but this tunnel keeps taking us to random places! Nya!" Jibanyan exclaimed.

"That sounds kind of familiar…" Pikachu muttered. Inaho looked at them skeptically.

"Hmm… Aha! You guys must be the aliens mining for resources!?" Inaho suddenly exclaimed, looking at Pikachu in particular with amazement. Ash and his friends stared at her with dumbfounded expressions.

"What did I say about being stupid! Dani!" USApyon shouted with a look of anger on his face.

"Ash, how do you know these people? And what kind of Pokémon are those? They're talking, how?" Clemont asked, curiously adjusting his glasses.

"Good sir, we are not Pokémon. We are yo-kai," Whisper said, floating over to Clemont whom backed up a little. "I myself am a yo-kai Butler, my name is Whisper, wissu," he gave a bow and Clemont didn't look like he knew how to react.

"… Yo-kai? I've never heard of anything like that before," Clemont looked even more curious now. Whisper smirked and started to explain.

"Well you see my bespectacled friend, yo-kai are spirits that can't be seen with the naked eye, and are responsible for all of life's little annoyances."

"Oh, so you're some kind of ghost type Pokémon?" Clemont questioned and Whisper faltered a little.

"Um… No."

"… Excuse me, but am I the only one whom noticed that Pikachu talked!?" Serena suddenly exclaimed, looking a little freaked out.

"Um… well," Ash tried to think of something, but was interrupted by Inaho, whom smirked and adjusted her glasses.

"Isn't it obvious!?" Everyone turned their attention to the purple haired girl. "The alien has already started a mind-meld. Soon we will all become part of the collective!"

"…"

"What did I say!? What did I say!? Dani!" USApyon shouted in rage, holding his blaster up threateningly, but stopped when Bonnie ran over to Inaho excitedly and stood in his path.

"Wow you're definitely a keeper! Please take care of my brother!" the little blond girl said as she looked up at Inaho. Both Inaho and USApyon stared at her in surprise.

"Um… what?" Inaho blinked in confusion, before a robotic arm shot out of Clemont's backpack and pulled his little sister away from her.

"Bonnie! What did I tell you about that!?" Clemont shouted in embarrassment. Inaho gasped and jumped over to him.

"Ooh! What's that robot arm!? Can I touch it!?" Clemont nervously backed up from Inaho as she tried to get a better look at the mechanical Aipom arm.

"Er, yes it is, and no you can't."

"Aww, please!"

"Stop bothering them! Dani!" USApyon shouted, regaining his bearings and holding his blaster again.

"Fine…" Inaho groaned. Serena still looked freaked out and glanced between all of the new people, before she spotted Fumi standing there, looking unsure of what to do. Fumi noticed Serena looked at her and coughed.

"Um… Hi," Fumi awkwardly waved, Serena waved back before walking over to Fumi and started a casual conversation with her.

"So anyway we usually meet mirror versions of ourselves around this point in Baseline," Ash explained to Keita whom nodded while scratching his head.

"Nothing like that's happened to me as far as I can recall, Baseline-wise at least," Keita said with a thought and Pikachu held up a paw.

"Been through it a lot of times, with quite a few variations, though for this Loop how about we just go with them? See where it goes?" Pikachu offered to Ash whom shrugged with a smile that said he was up for it. Pikachu smirked before looking towards Keita. "Well? Want any company on your tunnel-adventure. Ash and I only woke up a couple days ago but we have been considering going 'off the rails' Baseline-wise for the past few Loops, this seems like as good an opportunity as any!"

"I don't think that would be a problem, but…" Keita looked at Inaho, whom had gone back to pestering Clemont to tell her about his robot arm, despite USApyon's protest. Bonnie had moved her focus to Fumi whom was still talking to Serena, and was looking for an opportunity to jump in. Whisper floated above the group, surveying the scenes with an expression somewhere between intrigued and concerned. "Would your… friends be ok with it?" Ash paused for a moment before looking towards the others.

"Hey guys!" Everyone turned towards the Looping Pokémon trainer at his exclamation "Anybody else want to go through the mysterious tunnel with these guys? It'll be an adventure!" Ash offered with an enthusiastic smile on his face.

"I don't know Ash, do you even know what-" Clemont started but Bonnie quickly jumped up in excitement.

"Yeah! Adventure!" Bonnie cheered, apparently having forgotten about trying to ask Fumi to marry her brother.

"You don't really know what you're getting into, I'm not so sure if I'm comfortable with such a young child tagging along, wissu," Whisper said while looking down at Bonnie, the young girl smiled when she looked up at him.

"Wow! You're so cute! Like a big floating marshmallow!"

"You think I'm cute?" Whisper asked, looking both surprised and pleased. "Well, I suppose I can protect you from any dangers we may run into, wissu."

"I suppose we could…" Clemont sighed in defeat.

"I wouldn't mind I guess, for a little while at least. But I'd still like to know why Pikachu was talking!" Serena exclaimed, looking towards the electric mouse Pokémon.

"All will be revealed if we follow the path of adventure," Pikachu said dramatically. The non-Loopers looked unsure, but nodded.

"… You know, this actually isn't the weirdest thing to happen to us this week," Serena briefly said to Fumi who rose an eyebrow.

"… Really?"

"You sure about this? We have no idea where we'll end up," Keita said to Ash and Pikachu with a cautious expression.

"Hey now, what are the Loops without a little mystery?" Pikachu said confidently.

"Welcome aboard my electric friend! Nya!" Jibanyan exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Good to be aboard my fiery feline friend!" Pikachu gave a victory sign.

"Well this should be interesting, wissu," Whisper muttered with his arms crossed, and the group continued one with their new companions.

 **4200 meters**

Continuing along through the tunnel with their new companions (the Awake Ash and Pikachu, along with the UnAwake Clemont, Bonnie and Serena) the Yo-Kai Watch Loopers noted that the walls had become that of a man-made tunnel once more.

"… Say, Jibanyan," Keita looked down at the nekomata.

"Yeah Keita, nya?" Jibanyan's ears twitched as he looked up at his human friend.

"Why do you have those… 'Gigai'-bodies? Didn't you learn how to shapeshift from Puar, in that Dragon Ball Loop a while ago? Couldn't you become a human whenever you want with that?"

"… Well, yeah. Honestly, it's just easier using a Gigai, sure I _could_ shapeshift into a human if I wanted. But holding it is harder than it should be, takes too much concentration, how am I supposed to relax if I need to concentrate on holding a form? Nya," Jibanyan explained, with a little yawn at the end.

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that," Keita shrugged. "What about Yo-Kai leaves?"

"Come on Keita, you and I both forget those even exist half the time. Plus, they're a fallible illusion at best and can be dispelled by a simple gust of wind," Jibanyan reasoned, waving his paw a little to represent wind.

"Guess I can't argue with that," Keita scratched his head as they continued walking.

"Hey, doesn't it seem too quiet?" Pikachu noted from Ash's shoulder.

"Hmm, I would expect us to have run into something else by now, wissu," Whisper noted as he hovered by Pikachu and Ash.

"That… unnerves me," Fumi muttered. The others looked around to see if they could spot anything, but nothing showed up… there was just complete silence in the dark tunnel.

"… We should get moving," Keita said, looking creeped out. Everybody nodded in agreement before quickly moving forward.

 **4300 meters**

"Guys, this is getting a little strange," Serena noted as after taking a step into a floor that was too soft to be stone.

"Er, are we in an intestinal tract?" Keita questioned, looking at their surroundings, that now seemed to be made of pinkish flesh, the darkness that would normally obscure their vision up a head was replaced with red fog that would dissipate as they approached it.

"I'm uncomfortable…" Fumi muttered in a distressed tone.

"I have to agree, this is a little creepy, wissu" Whisper added, shivering a little.

"And the regular Infinite Tunnel _isn't_ creepy? Nya," Jibanyan questioned with a raised brow. Some sounds were heard up ahead, sort of like bouncing and squeaking voices, the group found a fork in the tunnel. Though they couldn't break from the path and walk into the room the alternate path led to, they still could look and see what was making the noise.

"Um… what exactly are those things?" Clemont questioned, briefly taking off his glasses and cleaning them to make sure his vision was clear.

"They're um… kind of cute?" Bonnie offered, not sounding very sure of herself. In the room where these strange… baby-fetus-things? They were all jumping around making the odd noises and didn't seem to notice them.

"Ah, what strange creatures. This definitely requires an investigation," Inaho spoke in a confident tone as she put her hand to her chin.

"Shut up! Let's move! Dani!" USApyon snapped, dragging Inaho ahead. Keita and Ash both blinked as they looked at the creatures.

"… Those aren't pokémon, right?" Keita inquired to his friend whom shook his head.

"No… and I assume they aren't yo-kai either," Ash concluded, Keita nodded. Both stared at the creatures for a moment longer as their friends went ahead quickly, before they followed.

 **4400 meters**

"This isn't much better," Fumi groaned as they walked through what seemed to be the insides of a creature, though the kind was very hard to place…

"It smells in here," USApyon grunted, Bonnie nodded in agreement.

"Hey, who's that?" Keita questioned, pointing to a blond girl with pigtails, sleeping to the side of their path. She got up and yawned a bit before looking at them.

"… Nya! Hello, did you guys get swallowed by Yellowknife too?" she questioned in a far too cheerful tone for what was implied.

"… Can we just keep going?" Pikachu questioned, everyone kept moving, ignoring the girl as she watched them with an un-changing smile…

 **4700 meters** **Archeo Lumiere**

The group of Loopers looked to their left as they entered a wider patch of tunnel, and to their left, the same group of Loopers looked to their right. The Group to the right was missing the Pokémon Loopers, but that was it.

"Is that... us?" Fumi R asked.

"This is making my head hurt," Fumi L stated.

"Why am I wearing clogs?" Keita R queried.

"They're surprisingly comfortable, actually. Don't knock 'em 'till you try 'em," Keita L responded.

Ash nodded to the other Keita. "Are those Kingler Carving Clogs?"

Keita L nodded at this, leaving Keita R confused as the two groups continued on.

 **5600 meters Archeo Lumiere**

At this point, the tunnel seemed somewhat normal, aside from a peculiar little shop face embedded in the wall, with a number of paper signs in the windows. The sign above the door showed a large red crab carving a block of wood with the name of the shop superimposed on it.

'KINGLER CARVING'

'Free gift to first time patrons!'

'Carved in 30 minutes or it's free! *'

'* Does not include ships in bottles.'

"This seems pretty relaxing," Keita commented, "anyone up for taking a quick break to go window shopping?"

At this point, a Kingler and a Growlithe exited the shop, a large cart being hauled behind the former. As the duo exited the shop, the canine pokemon stuck a "now at a new location" sign on the door, before turning around, a surprised look on his face.

{Why, this is neither the usual place our shop exits to, nor an elevator, where are we?} the puppy pokémon said in its native tongue, understood by about half of the party.

"Why, you're in the Infinite Tunnel, whis. Wait, an elevator, wissu?" Whisper asked.

{Aye, and wasn't that a strange ride. That elevator opened up to our shop on three separate occasions on its way down, along with my homeland near Floaroma, and a myriad of other strange locations aside.} The pup sighed wistfully. {That boy and his Pikachu were such good sports too.} At this, both Growlithe and Kingler did a double take. {Well bless my stripes, Ashton, is that you?} the confused canine asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Ash replied nervously

At this Jibanyan gasped loudly, approximately .1 Pinkies to be precise. "You remember the elevator glitch-nya!? But you aren't Loopers-nya!"

"Huh, what's he saying?" Inaho asked, and USAPyon nodded alongside her, as did the remaining pokémon guests.

"Oh, hang on, I have something in my Pocket for that!" Fumi called out, before reaching into her backpack and pulling out a fishbowl containing five yellow fish that were reminiscent of leeches. "Got them," she exclaimed, "now hold still you guys."

{Where did she get those, what the heck are they, and how are they going to solve our problem?} Growlithe asked quizzically, while Keita was simply stunned.

"The infamous babel fish, the cause of many Wars across galaxies, commonly accepted to be proof of God's existence, theorized by some to be proof of His non-existence," Ash said, just as Fumi slipped the fish into Inaho and USAPyon's ears, "and known to be universal translators, you should be clearly understood now," he concluded.

{Thank you, I suppose,} he said, as Inaho and USAPyon's eyes seemingly popped out of their skulls in astonishment, the native Kalosians similarly shocked. {In any case, I have no idea what "Looper" even are, just that our shops seem to be magic; ever since Ash and company showed up, our shop door has opened to incredibly bizarre groups, and elevators leading to yet more odd scenes, and I suspect our trip to our new shop face will be no different from our trip up the elevator with you,} the pokemon concluded.

A stunned silence went through the party, before Whisper, of all people, put it together. "So you're saying, that you're inhabitants of this particular glitch, wissu? Ash told us about you, he still wears the clogs you made him on occasion, you know-issu."

"It's true," Pikachu added, "when we're going through a particularly grassy area, or someplace muddy, he'll often slip them on for old times' sake." Ash nodded with happiness at this. "He also has a tendency to forget to take them off again until after we get to someplace paved," he jabbed humorously.

Ash shrugged at this. "It's not my fault they're even more comfortable than my sneakers most of the time."

{Ah, fills me with pride, that does,} Growlithe stated, happy to hear back from one of his customers again. {I assume you're giving yer recommendation to these children, then?} Growlithe asked Ash, to which he received a positive. {Then we'll give all you human kids measurements, even though we're moving right now,} he offered, and Keita and Fumi both accepted, while Inaho was still too stunned to move.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather wait to possibly encounter you again with my friends Awake, before you give them anything. Just so that they can remember the experience." Ash asked.

{That's fine with us,} the puppy pokémon replied.

At this, Kingler pulled out a pair of stools and set them down, having both New Sakura Town inhabitants sit down and remove their shoes to measure their feet.

{Now, we'll take your measurements down, and since we can't make your shoes on the move, we'll-} Growlithe was saying, before Kingler let out a gurgle, grabbing Keita's shoes and tossing them on the cart.

"Wait, what are you doing!?" Keita exclaimed, before Kingler pulled a pair of clogs out of the cart, slipping them onto his feet.

{Well I'll be, lad,} the fire type breathed out. {It's a rare occasion that Kingler is willing to give one of our display stock to someone. For his sake, at least give them a wear while we travel to our new shop, please?}

Keita thought about it a bit, weighing the shoes on his dangling, swinging feet, then hopping off the stool with a klock as wood hit cement. As soon as he stood up straight from this, his eyes widened in amazement.

"W-whoa, these feel more comfortable than my sneakers!" he said.

"I told you," Ash said in a sing song voice.

{Aye,} Growlithe nodded, {Kingler wouldn't have given you shoes if he didn't know for a fact they would fit. In fact, we're going the same direction as you. If your feet ever hurt, or the shoes break at any point before we get there, we'll take them back, and give you a brand new pair for free, sent through another visitor to our shop,} he pitched. {So, what do you say, care to walk a mile in our shoes?}

Keita nodded, and stepped forward, clacking once again. "Of course, I'm always willing try new things!"

"If you don't mind, I think I'll join you in that. A bit of solidarity, as it were," Ash offered, sitting down and removing his sneakers.

Walking over to Inaho, he shook her shoulder and spoke to her, "Come on, we're moving on." When she didn't move, he kicked her in the shin to try and startle her out of this fugue, forgetting what he was wearing.

"Yowch! What the heck is in your shoes?" she exclaimed in pain. When she looked down, she saw the clogs on his feet. "Oh."

Keita smirked at this. "I guess I found another advantage to these shoes. We're going," Keita said, Fumi nodding behind him, the other humans still somewhat confused.

 **6600 meters Archeo Lumiere**

This portion of the tunnel was simply massive, and filled to the brim with stuff from wall to wall.

Other than the Kingler cart hitting a bump, however, nothing of much importance occurred here.

 **7600 meters Archeo Lumiere**

The tunnel returned to its typical look, aside from a simple door featuring the Kingler Carving logo on it.

{Well, this is our stop,} Growlithe stated. {So, I noticed you had no complaints about our work.}

"Yeah, they're really amazing!" Keita exclaimed with a small hop, and a kerklump of the clogs landing, scuffed some, but not cracked or splintered.

"Yeah, yeah, you walked over a mile in those shoes, can you put your sneakers back now, dani?" USAPyon complained, tired of the clacking of his and Ash's shoes.

"Oh, right, can I get those back?" he asked sheepishly, "they're nice, but if I wear them for too long it will probably hurt my knees, one way or the other."

{Ah, right, let me get those,} the canine said, going into the cart. He rummaged around a bit, before he audibly muttered {Ah not again...}

The pokemon turned his head to the party, a bead of sweat visible on his head. {I think that your sneakers may have fallen off some ways back... sorry about this, just like with Ash, you'll have to stick it out until you find more shoes. Our apologies, but this is farewell.}

"I think we should head back to our world too, actually," Pikachu said reluctantly.

"I hope you can find another pair of shoes soon, simply so that you don't drive the rest of your fellow Loopers even more mad," Serena said, shaking her head.

As the carving duo entered their shop, closely followed by all of the Pokémon Loopers, an aura of despair hovered over the rest of the party, at the thought of the loud, solid shoes remaining on Keita's feet for potentially tens of miles more.

 **8100 meters** **Archeo Lumiere**

The group of Loopers looked to their right as they entered a wider patch of tunnel, and to their right, the same group of Loopers looked to their left.

"Is that... us?" Fumi R asked.

"This is making my head hurt," Fumi L stated.

"Why am I wearing clogs?" Keita R queried.

"They're surprisingly comfortable, actually. Don't knock 'em 'till you try 'em," Keita L responded.

Ash nodded to the other Keita. "Are those Kingler Carving Clogs?"

Keita L nodded at this, leaving Keita R confused as the two groups continued on.

"Hey..." Jibanyan began, "was that us from the past, nya?"

 **19700 meters Archeo Lumiere**

Once more, the walls returned to a normal appearance, making the resonant klock, klock, klock of clogs on cement all the more prominent. This time, however, one wall was lined with shelves, featuring almost solely shoes with toes, along with a sign that said;

'TAKE A PAIR!'

The other wall was bare, but had a few benches, and a number of simulated terrains were present on the floor across the tunnel. There were a few foot shapes by the benches, in red and blue.

"Huh, I've seen these around before," Inaho said, "one of my classmates wears them in variants that reach high school. Hey Keita-kun, maybe they'll have a pair here for you! Let's get your foot measured up. So you can finally stop bothering me with that clacking. it's been eight miles already."

They went to the littler foot thing by the benches, and measured Keita's feet for themselves. Keita was bothered by Inaho's comment, but wanted a change of footwear himself.

"It's a 34," Keita said, "Let me see if they have anything for me."

As he checked in the smaller sized shoes, he saw a pair that immediately stood out, a pair with a grey upper, blue soles, red laces, and red and blue accents.

"Sweet, they have a pair in my colors!" Keita exclaimed, taking them back to a bench, and slipped his feet into them and tied the laces.

"It's a perfect fit again, what's it with this loop and giving me shoes?" Keita asked, wiggling his toes in the pockets. "Not that I'm not grateful, but it's just a bit weird."

"Whatever, Keita-kunyan. At least now you won't be clacking with every step, nyan," Jibanyan said lazily.

 **33300 meters**

As the group continued forward, they noticed three bathroom stalls on one of the walls. Keita glanced back at his friends whom looked confused, before shrugging and going up to the third stall.

*Knock*

"Hanako-san, are you there?"

*Knock*

"Hanako-san, are you there?"

*Knock*

"Hanako-san, are you there?" after a moment of waiting, the door cracked open and a little girl yo-kai whom they recognized looked at Keita with an embarrassed glare.

"Didn't your parents teach you it's rude to disturb a girl when she's using the bathroom?" she huffed, before pulling the door shut. Keita sweatdropped as his friends stared at him.

"… Well, let's continue!" Keita exclaimed, as if nothing happened. The others didn't say anything as they continued past the bathroom stalls and further into the tunnel.

 **49500 meters**

"I'm telling you! This will never end! We'll be stuck in this tunnel for the rest of the Loop! Dani!" USApyon shouted, running around the rest of the group in a panicked fashion.

"Seriously, USApyon, this is not productive in the slightest," Keita sighed.

"The tunnel ends eventually, it's just… a little weird this Loop," Fumi muttered in an attempt to calm the otter yo-kai, though it didn't seem to work.

"No use trying to calm him down, guys. When he's like this he doesn't listen to reason," Inaho sighed with a shrug, a smug smirk on her face. USApyon stopped his panicking and twitched, glaring at Inaho.

" _You're_ not one to talk about listening to reason! Dani!"

"Guys, please don't argue," Fumi sighed with a sweatdrop.

"I swear, you'd think in the Loops you two would've matured a little by now, whiss," Whisper huffed, USApyon and Inaho both twitched before glaring at the ghost butler.

"LIKE YOU'RE ONE TO TALK(DANI)!" the two shouted, sending the yo-kai tumbling into Keita.

"Ow!" Keita shook his head, before picking the dizzy Whisper up. "Whisper?"

"That's why you should keep your myouth closed more often, nya," Jibanyan chided as he padded by.

"You're not the one I want to hear that from, wissu…" Whisper groaned, floating out of Keita's hands and giving him a bow of thanks.

"I'm more concerned about the fact we haven't run into another thing yet," Keita said, glancing around carefully. Fumika nodded nervously, the others didn't seem concerned though…

"… There doesn't seem to be anything, dani," USApyon pointed out. Keita sighed and nodded, still he didn't feel entirely sure something wouldn't jump them at any random moment…

"BABY BRO!" in a blur of red and rose petals, Keita swept up into a hug by Ruby.

"No! Not a baby!" Keita exclaimed while struggling, but Ruby's grip was too strong for him to escape. The UnAwake Weiss stared in confusion at the scene.

"… Huh, didn't see that one coming, dani," USApyon muttered with a surprised look, Weiss glanced at him, gaining a freaked-out expression as she looked at the other yo-kai as well.

"… What the heck is going on here!? Ruby!?" the white-haired girl called out to her leader, whom didn't respond, as she was still preoccupied hugging her little brother.

"… Really, Ruby. Put me down…"

 **49600 meters**

"So, let me get this straight; this is your younger brother, whom you've _never_ mentioned before."

"To be fair, you didn't mention your sister until we met her," Ruby pointed out to her partner, whom huffed and kept glaring at her.

"And he's in this tunnel, with these weird… things."

"They're my friends," Keita interjected firmly. Jibanyan and Whisper nodded proudly, Weiss ignored them.

"Right… and this all makes sense, because…?"

"… Because I'm your leader, and you trust me?" Ruby smiled, Weiss gave up.

"… Sure, whatever."

"If you can't handle this, you won't last long in here. We're bound to run into something else weird, soon," Keita stated calmly. Inaho nodded as they kept walking. Fumi trailed behind the group, and noticed a strange sound coming from a door on the side of the tunnel.

Carefully, the girl cracked the door open and took a peek inside, only to immediately slam it closed.

"Nope…" Fumika stated with a disturbed expression, before going to catch up with the others. She opted not to mention what she had seen to the others, or ever again…

 **49700 meters**

"So, I can't help but notice, this tunnel is kind of like the elevator my friends and I got stuck in a while back," Ruby explained to Keita, the two hanging in the back of the group, far enough away to not be heard. "What with you being trapped in here, and running into random things every so often…"

"Elevator? I think Ash and Pikachu mentioned something about an elevator a while back…" Keita noted as the two kept walking. "But, yes. Random stuff keeps happening… in fact, something is probably about to happen…"

The sounds of all their friends screaming up ahead didn't even faze the two.

"Spot on," Ruby complimented before they both used their speed to rush to the head of the group and see what exactly was happening. The two came to the sight of their friends staring, horrified, at the grotesque, green monster that took up the whole tunnel.

It appeared to be just a head, a single large eye stared at them, a tongue occasionally sticking out from a gigantic maw of jagged fangs.

"That's horrifying…" Weiss muttered with a disgusted look on her face, seeing as she wasn't Awake, this was significantly harder on her than the others.

"How are we supposed to get past this thing? Wissu…" Whisper asked with a scared expression. Keita and Ruby looked to each other, before shrugging. Keita approached the beast and proceeded to scratch its chin.

"Hey, big guy. How about letting us through?" the beast let out an affectionate sounding growl at the request. Keita backed up before it opened its mouth wide, the tongue rolling out like a red carpet. "… Well, in we go," the Yo-kai Watch Anchor said with a shrug, stepping into the creature's mouth. His companions followed with varying degrees of hesitation (none, on Ruby's part).

"No! No! No!" Weiss shook her head, standing firm with her arms crossed. "I am not traveling through some repulsive monster's gullet!"

"Come on!" Ruby sped out before grabbing her partner, and pulling her forward.

"Hey! No, Ruby!"

 **50000 meters**

The group reached a clearing that seemed like an open cavern of some kind. A small, humanoid, shadowy creature that Keita recognized was in combat with a white cloaked individual whom Ruby recognized.

"Grandpa!?"

"Mom!?"

The two combatants briefly looked over and also seemed surprised.

"Ruby!?"

"Keita!?" but they quickly noticed each other again and went back to fighting, the group watched this for a moment with blank expressions.

"Should we… do something?" Fumi questioned.

"Why are they even fighting?" Inaho asked while scratching her head. "Also, Keita's grandpa is a shadow?"

"Yo-kai," Whisper corrected.

"… Shouldn't you two step in and stop them?" Weiss looked over at Ruby and Keita.

"Yeah! Get her grandpa! You can do it!"

"Mom! You got this! Kick his ghostly butt!" Weiss sweatdropped at how invested the two Anchors were in their (deceased) elders' fight.

"I think we're going to be stuck here till their finished. Dani…" USApyon muttered, the others nodded in resignation, while Keita and Ruby continued to cheer on their respective relatives.

 **50100 meters**

"Wow mom! That was awesome!"

"You were incredible grandpa! With your moves and your speed, jumping around like that!" Ruby and Keita both cheered their two new traveling companions. Summer Rose walked by her daughter awkwardly, while Guts K sat on Keita's head.

"Well thank you Ruby, but… how are you a teenager? Last I checked you were a little girl," Summer said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I would also like to know what's going on! And why you attacked me!" Guts K exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Ruby's mother.

"I thought you were a grimm, ok? Easy mistake to make," Summer defended herself before turning back to her daughter, Guts K huffed at the answer. "Seriously Ruby, about the age thing?"

"Er, that's kind of complicated," Ruby chuckled a little nervously.

"No, it really isn't," Weiss muttered dully.

"I feel like we've been walking for miles," Inaho complained.

"We had been walking for miles, but we had plenty of time to rest when Keita and Ruby made us watch that fight for twenty minutes. Dani," USApyon stated uncaringly. Inaho fell to the ground and wrapped her arms around his helmet.

"I'm too tired to keep walking! Please carry me!"

"NO! Dani!"

"Please!"

"Get off me! Dani!" Fumi shuffled ahead and away from Inaho and USApyon and stood next to Whisper and Jibanyan.

"What were you doing in the tunnel anyway? Nya," Jibanyan asked the yo-kai sitting on Keita's head curiously.

"I was looking for Fuyunyan, I heard he was somewhere in that cave. Though it definitely wasn't a tunnel when I entered it," Guts K answered simply.

"I heard there was a grimm in this cave and was investigating, I also don't recall it being a tunnel," Summer answered as well. "Even though that's not really the strangest thing, considering my little girl is now a teenager!" she looked towards Ruby for answers again, the Anchor of Remnant just whistled innocently.

"Well, I certainly don't think any grimm are in this tunnel," Whisper spoke confidently, the sound of rustling ahead made them all look forward, before a swarm of beowolves came rushing out of the darkness.

"Really!?" Fumi threw her arms up in exasperation, before she fired PK Freeze at them.

"Whisper, maybe you should just not talk for a while," Keita sighed as he pulled Spectral Fang from his pocket. Ruby nodded, holding Crescent Rose ready.

"Hey! This isn't my fault!"

"I don't know what's going on, but let's go!" Summer Rose said, holding her own weapon ready.

"Guts!" Guts K exclaimed in a battle pose.

"Get off me so I can fight! Dani!" USApyon shouted at Inaho. Weiss eye twitched a bit in annoyance as she pulled out her weapon.

 **51000 meters**

The cave seemed to fork now, one path leading further into the darkness of the cave, the other into a somewhat bright forest.

"Can we please go that way?" Fumi questioned, looking a little tired. Keita tried to walk in the direction of the exit, but hit a force field, causing Guts K to fall off his head and onto the path.

"No… but he can," Keita offered, pointing at his yo-kai grandfather who got back to his feet, Fumi groaned as it seemed they wouldn't be getting out of the tunnel anytime soon.

"I hear fighting," Summer muttered, walking over to the pathway and next to Guts K, the two looked out into the clearing and their eyes widened, Taiyang, Qrow, Raven and Fuyunyan were all out there, fighting both Grimm and Kaima.

"Fuyunyan!" Guts K called out to the hovering cat yo-kai, though it didn't seem he could hear him.

"Tai! Qrow!" Summer called to two of her old teammates, though like Keizo her words didn't reach them. The two looked at each other briefly, then back at their fighting companions, before glancing back at Keita and Ruby.

"… Go," Ruby sighed.

"Yeah, we'll see you guys again, sometime," Keita and Ruby both smiled at their grandfather and mother respectively, the two elders smiled back and nodded before running out of the cavern.

"Can we follow?" Weiss asked tiredly.

"Nope!" Ruby cheered and hugged Keita while giving him a noogie. "Gotta keep this guy in line!"

"Ruby! Stop!" Keita pleaded, though he seemed happy. Fumi and Weiss both sighed. Inaho looked out at the battle outside interestingly, though seemed disappointed she couldn't follow out. USApyon was still ignoring everyone.

"Ok, let's keep going! Nya!" Jibanyan, whom was somewhat ahead of the group, called out. The others nodded before following, Keita and Ruby gave one last wistful look to their battling relatives, before following.

"Wait up! Wissu! I said, wait!" a tired Whisper called as he caught up and continued to follow the group.

 **51100 meters**

"So, nyow what?" Jibanyan questioned, looking around the tunnel.

"When do we get out of here?" Weiss groaned tiredly.

"I've been asking that since we got stuck in here, dani…" USApyon grunted.

"Well, we just need to keep going! That's how this works!" Ruby exclaimed, speeding over to her friend's side. Weiss groaned again.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a way out soon… sooner than us, anyway," Fumi said, with a bit of a sigh at the end. Suddenly, a trap door opened up beneath Ruby and Weiss.

"… Well, that's convenient," Ruby commented with a shrug, Weiss' eye twitched.

"This is not what I meeeeaaaant!" the white-haired girl cried as the two dropped down. A thud was heard not long after, the six locals looked down the whole, seeing Weiss and Ruby had landed in their own room at Beacon, more or less unharmed.

"Ow…" Weiss rubbed her head.

"Well, we're back," Ruby shrugged.

"Hey, how come _they_ get to live falling down a hole?" Keita complained bluntly.

"Never mind that, we can get out! Dani!" USApyon exclaimed happily, before jumping towards hole… only to hit his helmeted head against an invisible barrier. "OW! DANI!"

"Yeah, that figures," Fumi sighed with a shake of her head.

"Looks like we need to keep going," Inaho chuckled, USApyon silently cried by one of the tunnel's walls.

 **55000 meters**

Salt water unexpectedly splashed over the group, but it cleared up before anyone could drown, leaving two little lion-dogs behind unexpectedly.

"Wow! That was sure strange! Zura!" Komasan cheered.

"Komasan? Komajiro?" Keita questioned.

"I thought you said they were checking out the Bermuda Triangle, or something? Wissu," Whisper pointed out plainly.

"That's what they said…" Keita muttered in confusion.

"Um brother, how did we get here?" Komajiro questioned, looking around the tunnel.

"I thought we ended up in some kind of space-hole! The Bermuda Triangle sure is amazing!" Komasan exclaimed, before he noticed his fellow Loopers that had been traveling the tunnel. "Oh! Hey guys, when did you get here? Zura."

"It's you who got here, dani," USApyon sighed. "Now you're part of this too, I guess…"

"Um, part of what?" Komajiro asked.

"Exploring this tunnel! Obviously!" Inaho shouted enthusiastically before marching forward. "Now let's go you slowpokes!"

"We are not Pokémon, nya," Jibanyan yawned as he followed.

"Come on, we'll explain along the way," Fumi sighed as she gestured for the komainu brothers to follow while Keita and Whisper went ahead.

"… Well this sure got interesting fast," Komasan smiled at his brother, whom gave an unsure look back.

"I'm not sure if 'interesting' is the right word…"

 **55100 meters**

"And then we got on a boat, and then we sailed towards the Bermuda Triangle, and then we saw a pelican, and then we got lost, and then we looked at the map, and then we saw a dolphin! Zura!"

The group marched forward tiredly, as Komasan went on and on about what he and his brother had done before ending up in the tunnel.

"Um, brother. I think you should stop now," Komajiro muttered, unsurely.

"Stop? Zura," Komasan looked at his brother curiously, stopping in his tracks.

"He meant stop talking! Nyot stop walking! Nya!" Jibanyan tiredly exclaimed.

"Oh…" the white and blue lion-dog nodded.

"Is that a pit of lava…? Dani," USApyon questioned, the others noted the large pit of lava they were walking past, also that the tunnel seemed to have become some sort of underground base…

"These is weird, are we in a supervillain lair or something?" Keita questioned, Inaho looked excited at that idea.

"I hope not…" Fumi sighed.

"Get out of my basement you crazy, new-age ghost-kids!" An old man in a lab coat, a bald head, and a thick pair of glasses shouted, holding a shoe up threateningly. "Or I'll be forced to throw this shoe at you!" the group simply stared at the man for a few seconds.

"… Prof. Farnsworth?" Keita asked, a look of recognition on his face.

"How do you know my name!? Who sent you!?" The professor started screaming, throwing the shoe at the group, whom immediately started running.

 **60000 meters**

"Brr… it sure got cold, zura…" Komasan shivered as they marched through the, now icey, tunnel. His brother nodded from his spot beside him.

"Don't you have fire powers?" Keita questioned, being kept warm because of Jibanyan, resting on his head.

"Let's just keep going, I want to the tunnel to turn back to normal as soon as possible!" Fumika exclaimed, looking to be handling the cold no better than Komasan.

"You can use PK Fire…"

"F-fire, doesn't seem like a good idea, Keita-kun… the whole tunnel could flood, wissu…" Whisper pointed out, also shivering from the cold. Keita shook his head and sighed, but didn't argue.

"We shall strike here, the humans will not see it coming," they heard a female voice speak from ahead, the group was surprised when they came across a large group of Yuki-onna, and Fubuki-hime, with a single Hyakki-hime pointing out instructions on a map, that seemed to have been carved into the ice.

"Wow! A secret meeting of icey yo-kai!" Inaho exclaimed in excitement, apparently not very concerned with the cold. All the yo-kai immediately turned their eyes on the group.

"…"

"Um, hi?" Keita offered blankly.

"… Kill them!" Hyakki-hime ordered fiercely, the group quickly started running, avoiding blasts of ice as they did.

 **60100 meters**

"Well, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting to run into, wissu…" Whisper said, after the group lost the attacking ice yo-kai, the tunnel had also changed back to its regular appearance.

"Nothing in this tunnel is what should be expecting, I wasn't really surprised," Keita grunted, putting Jibanyan back on the ground to walk on his own, something the lazy cat yo-kai did with reluctance. As Keita began walking again himself, he felt a small, cold hand tug on his own, he glanced down to find a little(r than normal) Yuki-onna looking up at him, with an innocent yet expecting expression. "What the…?"

"Daddy, I want a piggy-back ride!" the request from the small yo-kai left the Anchor even more confused.

"Huh? Wha–I'm not your daddy!" the tiny cloaked yo-kai kept staring at him, startled at his response… before her eyes started to tear up. "Wait! No, fine!" Keita quickly picked the child yo-kai up and placed her on his back. "Piggy-back ride, okay?"

"Yeah! Piggy-back ride, daddy!" she cheered, suddenly in a good mood again, hugging his back. Keita bit his tongue to stop himself from pointing out that he was not her 'daddy' again.

"Looking good there, 'daddy,'" Inaho chuckled as she pranced by, the male watch-holder sent her a death-glare.

"Keep talking like that, and you'll soon find yourself with that yo-kai form you covet so much…" Inaho waved off the Anchor's threat as she kept on ahead. Keita sighed before following along with the others.

 **60200 meters**

"So, nyow what? Nya," Jibanyan questioned as they kept walking.

"We just keep walking, what else could we do?" Fumi muttered.

"Have an adventure? Zura," Komasan suggested, Komajiro looked unsure if he should say anything.

"I'm more concerned one what's up with…" Keita glanced to the small Yuki-onna clinging to his back, not really sure of what to call her. "This…"

"Daddy…" she cooed, snuggling into the back of his shirt. Keita sweatdropped. The group continued, before they spotted a small form up ahead.

"… Daddy?" another little Yuki-onna tilted her head from a little further up the tunnel, Nate took a step back while his companions looked towards him.

"Oh no…"

"Daddy! Daddy!" she happily cried, running up to the Anchor and hugging his pants' leg affectionately.

"What? No!"

"Daddy!" both Yuki-onna exclaimed innocently.

"No! I'm not your daddy!"

"Are you filming this? Dani," USApyon asked the chuckling Inaho, whom had a video camera out.

"What do you expect me to do, _not_ film it?" the purple-haired girl questioned as if the answer was obvious, before going back to filming. USApyon gave his companion a dull expression, shaking his head.

 **60300 meters**

"Daddy! I want a turn!"

"No! My piggyback!"

"Daddy!"

"Daddy!"

Keita glowered subtly as the two tiny yo-kai argued, one on his back and the other holding his hand.

"I think this is kind of adorable," Fumi smiled, Keita's response to this comment was a glare.

"But, why do they think Keita-kun is their father? Wissu," Whisper questioned with a confused expression.

"I don't know, but I'm loving every minute of it!" Inaho chuckled, still filming Keita's interaction with the little ice yo-kai.

"Inaho, I swear I'm gonna– "before Keita could finish his threat, a small form fell from the ceiling and landed on his head.

"Daddy!" the new Yuki-onna cheered, Keita's eye twitched.

"NO! Where do you all keep coming from!?"

 **60400 meters**

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" The three little Yuki-onna cheerfully chanted as they clung to Keita, said boy trudging along with a defeated expression.

"Wow, three kids? You've been busy, Keita," Inaho laughed, Keita let out a low growl.

"Keep calm, keep calm…" the Anchor muttered to himself, not wanting the little yo-kai clinging to him to start crying, even if they were annoying him…

"This is very strange, zura," Komajiro commented.

"Why? Zura," his brother looked confused.

"They just came out of nowhere and think Keita-kun is their daddy, he's not even a yo-kai right now. It's odd, zura," Komajiro explained as best he could, Komasan shrugged. As the group continued, they saw another form up ahead, similar, but different from the three yo-kai they had already encountered.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" The three Yuki-onna cried out cheerfully, the Fubuki-hime that hovered over gave a gentle smile.

"Nice to see you my babies! Have you been good girls for daddy?" the S-rank yo-kai asked kindly, the three smaller yo-kai nodded quickly, before letting go of the clueless Keita and going to their mother's side.

"Hold on! What is going on!? Why are you– "Keita started to yell, but was left speechless and red-faced when the Fubuki-hime pecked him on the cheek and gave him a loving look.

"Thanks for looking after them, Honey. I'll take it from here. Say goodbye to daddy, girls."

"Bye, bye, daddy!" the three Yuki-onna waved as they followed the Fubuki-hime away. Keita just stood, frozen in place with an unchanging expression.

"And on top of everything; cheating on Fumi-chan? Scandalous," Inaho adjusted her glasses with an evil smirk, Keita snapped out of stupor and looked like he was about to snap at the girl, but before he could, to his, and everyone else's surprise, Inaho was met with a hard slap on the back, by Fumi. "Ow! Wha!?"

"Let's go," Fumika huffed, before charging to the head of the group, a visible scowl on her face.

 **100000 meters/exit**

"Freedom!" Fumi called out, running out of the tunnel and falling to her knees.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad," Keita said as he walked over to his female friend, she glared at him but said nothing.

"Ah! Good to get out of that stuffy tunnel and breath in fresh air again! Wissu!" Whisper exclaimed, stretching his arms and twirling a bit.

"Aw, is it over already?" Inaho questioned, looking disappointed.

"Do you seriously want it to be _longer_!? Dani!" USApyon exclaimed in disbelief at his friend's reaction to exiting the tunnel.

"That was exciting! I hope we can do it again sometime! Zura!" Komasan cheered as he and his brother exited the tunnel side-by-side.

"I'm not so sure, zura…" Komajiro muttered, looking less enthusiastic than his brother.

"Let's all just be glad we're free of that tunnel, nya," Jibanyan nodded to himself as he came to Keita's side. The Anchor nodded, giving his feline friend a pat on the head.

"Yes, you all had quite the experience, didn't you?"

"Yeah, a pretty unexpected one too," Keita nodded to the female voice, he and the others all blinked with confused looks, before glancing over at the little girl-like being that had spoken.

"Good to see you out now, at least. I hadn't intended for the tunnel to be that long," she spoke in a calm voice, glancing between the Loopers.

"… Moody Mary?" the Anchor questioned.

"Actually, it's En'en Shojo. I assume you know me as that name in another time and place."

"… What did you mean you didn't mean for the tunnel to be that long?" Inaho asked, suspiciously.

"She's the one that made the tunnel, at least in the common game-variant. And it isn't usually supposed to be that long, and there are supposed to be emergency exits," Fumi explained, with Keita nodding.

"I don't understand how ANY of that happened! Dani!" USApyon groaned as he took a seat on the ground.

"To be honest, neither do I. I normally create the tunnel, but this time it seemed like it had been hijacked by some other force… I assume it is related to the repeating of time and space," En'en Shojo explained with a thoughtful look.

"Wait! You know about the time Loops!? Whissu!?" Whisper questioned in surprise, floating over the ghostly girl.

" _This_ time I do. I don't always, and I didn't before the disruption to my tunnel occurred. But it seems you all have a special immunity to these time-loops that not even I can understand," she explained simply.

"That may be so, but we don't even know how all that junk in the tunnel happened… Ruby did mention it being like something that happened with an elevator before," Keita scratched his head.

"Tunnel, elevator, whatever. I'm just glad we don't have to walk anyamore," Jibanyan yawned as he curled up on the ground.

"Hmm, curiouser and curiouser," En'en Shojo said, poking Jibanyan's ear. The nekomata swatted her hand away with a grunt.

"… Can we just not think about this too hard and move on? I'd rather not spend the rest of the Loop dwelling on that crazy tunnel, dani," USApyon sighed.

"But we're detectives! We should want to figure this out more than anyone!" Inaho insisted, pulling USApyon to his feet, but he quickly disconnected from her arms and fell back to the ground.

"I'm too tired to go vader-mode on you right now, so don't tempt me, dani."

"So fun, zura," Komasan laughed as he thought about the adventures in the tunnel, Komajiro shook his head with a confused expression.

"I'm with USApyon, let's get the heck out of here," Keita nodded.

"Yeah, I just want to go home right now," Fumi muttered tiredly.

"I can assist with that," En'en Shojo offered, before pointing out a mirror-like yo-kai, sleeping in the corner of the area. "That ungaikyō will teleport you back to the tunnel's entrance."

"Well, let's go than. Thank you for your assistance, whissu," Whisper bowed to the pale girl, the others nodding (accept the sleeping Jibanyan).

"Even if something unexpected occurred, I am happy to have visitors. If you find the time, please do visit me again," En'en Shojo spoke with a bow of her own. "Even if not during this cycle, either I or this 'Moody Mary' would surely appreciate any company."

"We'll try if possible, miss," Komasan smiled.

"The tunnel can be fun when it doesn't go crazy, I'll be back at some point," Keita smiled.

"Never… again, dani," USApyon sighed. And with that the Loopers approached the mirror tsukumogami (Jibanyan being carried by Keita), and we're teleported out of the area.


	6. Chapter 5

**5.1**

"Ok, why the heck am I a girl!?" was the first thing Nate/Keita–or Esther as he was apparently called this Loop, cried out after she had recovered from being 'broken hearted' or whatever.

"Esther? Are you ok?" the man she knew as her father this Loop, someone named Rashaad whom was apparently something called a 'Great Sage' questioned with a concerned look on his face, rushing over to her and taking hold of his 'daughter'. And honestly whom could blame him, his daughter recovered from having a piece of her heart torn out and the first thing she does is question why she's a girl. Any parent would be concerned.

"I think we've got a proper mad one, Ollie-boy," The accented voice caused the boy-turned-girl to look down at an odd… yo-kai? No wait, her in-Loop memories told her this was a fairy…

"Don't be mean Mr. Drippy," The brown-haired boy, about her own age standing next to the fairy scolded softly.

"I'm fine, I just have a bit of a headache," Nate/Keita shook her head; it was always troublesome whenever s/he Looped outside of his own branch when his name changed, it meant he had no clear memories on which of his name's he went by which was just a big headache when self-identifying whom he was.

"Are you sure you're alright? Boy what exactly was that spell?" Rashaad questioned while looking at the boy that the fairy had referred to as 'Ollie-boy.'

"It was just to restore her heart, it should have just turned her back to her old self," ' _At least that's how it usually is…_ ' Oliver thought that last part as he looked at 'Esther' a bit curiously, she looked mostly like her old self, save for the fact that she had brown hair and eyes this Loop. And by her reaction to being, well a girl. It was a safe bet that this probably wasn't actually Esther, but one of those visiting Loopers.

"I'm absolutely fine, just a little disoriented. Don't worry… father," 'Esther' said as convincingly as she could while pulling away from the man. "It was just… a strange experience, I felt like I was someone else for a while…" that wasn't necessarily a lie. Rashaad looked at her for a few seconds before nodding.

"Esther, please forgive me. You may have been robbed of your courage, but I have only myself to blame for the loss of my own," the man said in an apologetic tone that Nate/Keita could only nod to–she hadn't exactly had the coherence to go over her in-Loop memories yet. Drifting into her own thoughts she didn't notice as her in-Loop father, the boy and the fairy spoke to each other. "We shall do our best to help you in this fight Oliver–won't we daughter?"

"Huh?" 'Esther' shook her head and looked around at the others before nodding. "Um, right. Yes, we'll help you, sorry. Just feeling a little Loopy, I could really use an Anchor," her father and the fairy both looked at her strangely at that statement, however Oliver's eyes widened slightly before nodding. ' _Fellow Looper: Located._ '

"Um right, well I'm pretty Anchored… and, uh a little Loopy myself," Oliver said looking like he was unsure of what words he should say.

"Well then we're on the same page I suppose," 'Esther' crossed her arms and nodded.

"… What the heck are you two going on about!?" Mr. Drippy questioned with a confounded expression on his face.

"Um, it's nothing Mr. Drippy," Oliver assured the currently unawake fairy, but he did not look convinced. Rashaad looked at them both suspiciously for a moment before he cracked a smile and chuckled a bit.

"Ah, I see. The children are just playing a bit of a word game to raise enthusiasm. It is true that in times of darkness we must keep good humor to stay sane at times."

"Um… sure," 'Esther' nodded, going along with her in-Loop father's assumption.

"I'm a fairy, so I know humor. And I'm not sure what kind of comedy routine that would be," Drippy muttered skeptically.

"Um, so you have a familiar, don't you Esther?" Oliver asked and Nate/Keita gave him an odd look before searching her in-Loop.

"Oh right, come out Whisper!" she exclaimed before releasing the familiar. From the name she remembered it having she could assume that her yo-kai butler had Looped in along with her. The form of the small, purple and white ghostly creature with a couple of blue flames floating around it and little black eyes didn't match the appearance he usually had, though Nate/Keita's current form wasn't the one s/he usually had either.

"Esther's talent lies in the training and handling of familiars. Though I must ask how did you know she would have one Oliver?" Rashaad questioned and Oliver sweated a bit.

"Well, um– "

"I say, what on earth is going on here!? Whiss." The dignified voice caused all attention to leave Oliver and focus on the wisp floating in front of 'Esther.' "Hmm, I thought I was in the crank-a-kai for a second there, but no. It was different," Whisper looked up and noticed the people staring at him. "Um… hello."

"Esther? Your familiar is… speaking?" Rashaad looked unsure of how to respond to this turn of events.

"Um… yes, he is. I… taught him to do it!" 'Esther' made up the best lie she could.

"Taught me?" Whisper questioned, clearly offended.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but he just had to blurt it out first chance he got. I must speak with my familiar about tact! If you'll excuse us!" she quickly grabbed Whisper and dragged him over to the first secluded corner she could find while Rashaad, Mr. Drippy and Oliver stared in the direction they left in.

"Hey, unhand me! Whis!"

"Whisper, keep it down," Nate/Keita hissed and the wisp's eyes widened slightly.

"Wait a minute… Keita-kun?"

"Or Nate, but yes."

"… You're a girl."

"Yes. And?"

"It's just odd… I don't think you've ever been a girl before," Whisper muttered, before looking around at the town they were in. "On the other hand, I don't think we've ever Looped into this place before. Or at least I haven't."

"Well I haven't either, but anyway I'm a girl named Esther here, my father over there is a Great Sage named Rashaad, and you're supposed to be my familiar," Nate/Keita explained quickly.

"Familiar?" Whisper questioned. "You mean like a black cat?"

"That's the comparison you come to first?" Nate/Keita questioned blankly for a moment before she thought of something. "Hey, why did you immediately call me Keita over Nate?"

"Nate was what you were called last Loop, it usefully switches the next one. Also I have that verbal tick that I only typically have when you're called Keita. Whiss," Whisper explained simply and Nate/Keita stared at him for a few seconds.

"Ok, fine. Makes it easier for me when I have one name to identify with," he admitted before glancing over at Oliver, Rashaad and Drippy. Rashaad seemed to be saying something to Oliver. "I think that kid over there is the Anchor, or at least a Looper. Hopefully we can get some answers from him on what this Loop is like, but we need to get him alone first," after Keita said this before she started walking back over with Whisper following. "Sorry about that, Whisper and I had a few things to talk about."

"The name's Whisper, nice to meet you all. Whiss," The wisp bowed slightly at the others stared at him.

"Whisper, you've seen me before…" Rashaad muttered as he stared at the familiar. "Though you've never spoken before."

"Um… right, sorry Rashaad, sir," Whisper bowed again after looking at his memories.

"Well… as strange as it is that you could teach your familiar to talk without me noticing Esther, we have other issues to deal with, the path to defeating the Dark Djinn is not an easy one. I have already said this to Oliver here and I will say it to you as well. The experience needed lies in the Temple of Trials."

"Temple of Trials?" Keita questioned as she looked between Rashaad and Oliver.

"Yes, you too could learn much from the Supreme Sage my daughter, I have agreed to accompany young Oliver to the temple. Only one with the Supreme Sage's blessing are permitted to open the temple doors. And that is why I will be accompanying you."

"I see… And I'm coming as well, right?" Keita questioned while glancing Oliver's way.

"Of course you will, you would be a great help," Oliver nodded enthusiastically, though Drippy still looked unsure.

"I don't know, still seems like she might have a few screws loose…"

"Mr. Drippy…" Oliver sighed at the blunt statement of his fairy companion.

"Well she does have a few problems, but I guarantee she's reliable. Whiss," Whisper stated.

"You're not helping Whisper…" Keita grunted under her breath.

"I would request you not say such rude things about my daughter," Rashaad glared at Drippy whom backed up a bit.

"Er… sorry."

"Either way, we should head towards the Temple of Trials as quickly as possible," after Rashaad said this he began moving with two children, a wisp and a fairy close behind.

"We'll talk later," Oliver whispered Keita's way and he just nodded as they moved towards the exit of the town.

* * *

It was night now as Oliver and Keita sat in front of a fire, the Temple of Trials was near and Rashaad stood watch nearby. Drippy was asleep and Whisper had(reluctantly) returned to Keita's heart earlier.

"So… you're not Esther, are you?" Oliver questioned after he made sure they weren't being listened to.

"No, my name's Keita Amano, or Nate Adams… but I'm going with Keita right now. I'm the Anchor of the Yo-kai Watch Loops," Keita answered simply.

"Yo-kai Watch?"

"Yeah, at least that's what most other Loopers call my branch and what the hub stuff is called, though a yo-kai watch is just a device that lets me summon and see yo-kai… which are creatures, kind of like the familiars…" Keita stopped his explanation and shook his head. "Anyway, I can get all into that later, you're Oliver?"

"Right, and I'm the Anchor for this Loop."

"Any other Loopers?"

"Um, just Mr. Drippy as far as I know, but…" Oliver glanced to the sleeping fairy and sighed. "He's definitely not Awake right now."

"Huh… I've got Whisper with me, that familiar of mine. He's a Looper from my baseline. Sorry about him just starting to talk right in front of Drippy and my… dad. But at least they didn't press the issue," Keita sighed.

"It wasn't a problem, though it is kind of odd that you have a wisp. Esther usually has a drongo," Oliver noted. Keita nodded, her memories telling him what kind of familiar a drongo was.

"Well I'm not Esther. Though it's probably because Whisper's a ghost-like yo-kai," Keita said in thought. "I'm not even a girl… normally… this is so odd."

"So that's why you questioned why you were a girl," Oliver chuckled a bit and Keita grunted.

"Yeah, yeah… so what's your baseline like?" Keita questioned.

"It's a long story, we're about to go to the temple of trials and you'll need some rest. We can go over it later, night Keita," Oliver took a comfortable position and got to sleep. Keita sighed and looked at her harp.

"A harp? Really… just got to wait for a good moment to bring out Spectral Fang," she muttered before getting to sleep.

* * *

"The Temple, at last. The Trials await," Rashaad spoke as they approached the doors of the Temple.

"Well then, let's hurry up and open those doors!" Keita exclaimed anxiously and her 'father' gave her a strange look. "Er, I mean. Wow isn't that… impressive…"

"You're not very good at this…" Oliver whispered to the boy-turned-girl.

"Shut up!" she hissed back.

"Patience, my daughter," Rashaad spoke again before looking between her and Oliver. "All sages must pass these Trials. The candidate must possess purity of heart, breadth of knowledge-"

"That's a laugh," Whisper chuckled from within Keita's heart.

"Quiet, at least I know more than you," Keita growled under her breath.

"Why you little-"

"And mastery of both spells and familiars," Rashaad finished without taking notice to his 'daughter's' little conversation. "The Temple both tests and tempers all of these qualities."

"Right, and if we can't get passed these Trials, there's no way we could beat Shadar," Oliver spoke seriously, though Keita could tell he had gone through this sort of conversation many times before.

"Yes, but passing the Trials alone will not be enough for you to face Shadar, you will need a far greater power to defeat the Dark Djinn," Rashaad said seriously, he then turned towards the closed doors of the Temple. "Now then, it is time to release the seal."

"Seal? You mean it's not just locked?" Keita questioned quietly, but Oliver shushed her. They watched as Rashaad raised his staff and a glow pulsed through the door. A few seconds of silence passed before the sage turned back to the two children and one fairy. "… Wasn't it supposed to open, um… dad?"

"No, I've merely undone the seal. The door itself must be opened with your own hands," Rashaad spoke calmly as he glanced over the children. "The Supreme Sage waits beyond the door, be prepared."

"Ok then…" Keita muttered unsurely.

"Well then, let's all get a move on, shall we?" Mr. Drippy said confidently before Oliver and Keita moved to open the door. The big stone door opened easily revealing a hall, with a rather imposing figure standing at the end.

"So, this is the Supreme Sage, is it?" Mr. Drippy questioned, Keita noticed Oliver subtly shake his head. They all then focused on the big guy before he spoke.

"Supreme Sage? I wish," The blue, bearded creature grunted in a voice that surprised Oliver, but Keita found familiar.

"Wait a minute? Church!?" Keita exclaimed without thinking. Rashaad looked at his 'daughter' with a confused look.

"You know 'em?" Mr. Drippy questioned Keita whom suddenly found herself put on the spot.

"Erm…"

"My name's not Church. I'm Umbopa; servant of the Supreme Sage," He spoke in a way that Keita could tell was probably rehearsed, and he sounded pretty angry–though in Keita's experience Church was angry most of the time.

"Church! Church! Did people come!? Are they here for the party!" a somewhat childish voice called from behind 'Umbopa.'

'Caboose!?' this time Keita managed to keep his surprise internal as they watched the servant step aside to reveal a throne, many familiars danced around and what appeared to be a blue skinned child sat on the throne.

"I suppose you can call me Church," 'Umbopa' sighed in defeat before he sent an annoyed look Caboose's way.

"Tucker did it!"

* * *

After Rashaad had been assured that everything was well and that he should leave the children to the Trials, he had left and now Oliver, Keita and Mr. Drippy were faced with… 'Umbopa' and 'the Supreme Sage.'

"Oh! It is so good to have new people here! Did you know that all those little creatures that run around don't talk at all? But I have Church to talk to so it's ok, right Church?" The Supreme Sage, whom was actually Caboose cheered as his servant for the Loop grumbled something… unpleasant under his breath.

"So… the Supreme Sage is a little nutty, is he?" Mr. Drippy questioned while looking at the small, blue skinned 'child.'

"Mr. Drippy, I don't think that's wise," Oliver sighed.

"Yeah, he's the 'Supreme Sage' remember? He could probably blow you up with a thought," Keita smirked.

"Yeah right! Even the true Supreme Sage probably couldn't do a thing like that! You're not very convincing as Esther you know," Mr. Drippy laughed at Keita and Oliver's shocked faces.

"Mr. Drippy? You're Awake!?"

"Only for the last ten minutes or so. Though even with that amount of time it's pretty easy to tell who's not who they're supposed to be here," Mr. Drippy nodded while glancing between Keita, Church and Caboose.

"Church… why is the little melon man looking at me like that?... I do not like it," Caboose said after a moment of silence.

"I'm not a 'melon man' you plum idiot! I'm Mr. Drippy! Lord High Lord of the fairies!" The small fairy announced proudly.

"Mr. Drippy, there is no need to be so rude. They're not from here," Oliver pointed out before looking towards Church and Caboose. "Sorry about him, he doesn't usually think about what he says."

"I beg your pardon!?" Mr. Drippy questioned incredulously.

"Oh don't worry, sometimes I don't think about what I say either," Caboose said with a smile. "In fact, I don't even know what I'm going to say next. It could be anything…" silence filled the room for a few moments before Keita cleared her throat.

"Church, Caboose!" she called out and they looked her way.

"How exactly do you know our names, girl?" Church questioned.

"Are you a fairy too!?" Caboose exclaimed. Keita shook her head before reaching into her pocket and pulling out Spectral Fang.

"It's me! Keita! Or Nate if you prefer. But I'm using Keita right now!"

"Oh! You're Grif's little brother," Church concluded. "Or would that be sister?"

"Brother," Keita grumbled holding her mechanical scythe close.

"First time you've changed genders?" she nodded at Church's question. "Feels weird at first, I know. But don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Why does the Esther replacement have a bloody scythe!?" Mr. Drippy questioned after he noticed the weapon the boy-turned-girl was holding.

"This is my weapon, and it's not bloody! I clean it after every fight!" Keita exclaimed as she held her weapon defensively. After a moment she handed the harp over to Oliver whom awkwardly took hold of it. "You take this, I won't need it."

"… Actually, I think you should hold on to it," Oliver said as he handed it back. "You _will_ probably need it," Keita looked unconvinced but didn't argue as she took it back and decided to store it in her Pocket.

"So, excuse me but I think I know what's going on now," Caboose interjected looking Keita's way. "You're the Yo-kai-better then-Pokémon guy!"

"I have nothing to do with Pokémon," Keita grumbled under her breath.

"What has to do with Pokémon? Is Ash here!?" Caboose questioned while looking around. Keita sweatdropped before Caboose looked her way again. "Wait… you… are a girl!" Caboose exclaimed in realization. "You know, that's weird. I always thought you were a boy… it's the hair. You didn't have a ponytail before, it helps me tell."

"I'm not normally a girl!" Keita shouted in aggravation.

"Um, are you ok?" Oliver questioned in concern.

"She's clearly unstable and has a scythe! Let's run for it Ollie-boy," Mr. Drippy whispered to Oliver whom shook his head. Keita shook her head and seemed to calm down after a moment.

"Whatever, since it's you two we don't actually have to do the Trials I guess," Keita concluded.

"Does that mean you aren't staying for the party?" Caboose questioned cluelessly.

"Caboose, there's no party. And I'm pretty sure you should still do the Trials," Church stated.

"I've already done the Trials though," Oliver pointed out.

"That you have Ollie-boy, but I doubt she has!" Mr. Drippy said while pointing at Keita, whom looked his way causing the fairy to flinch.

"I don't need any trials. I know how to fight," Keita stated while holding Spectral Fang up.

"Fighting isn't the only thing that we're going to have to deal with on this quest! The Trials will make sure you can handle it," Mr. Drippy said with his arms crossed. Keita glared at him before looking at Oliver whom was thinking.

"It probably wouldn't hurt just to get them done. It could help us refresh our skills…" Keita looked at him blankly for a moment before sighing and turning to Church.

"I suppose I'll go through with the Trials," she said and Church nodded.

"Ok then. But give us a minute, I have some ideas to modify the Trials with a bit. You know, so they aren't too easy," Keita could have sword she saw Church smirking and suddenly felt rather nervous about the coming Trials.

* * *

"The first Trial: The Test of Wits," Church introduced as Oliver, Keita and Drippy entered the Trial room. "Now, originally this Trial was pretty simple, just a few puzzles that were pretty easy if you ask me."

"No, they were really hard," Caboose's voice interjected.

"Caboose!" Church hissed before he coughed and continued his explanation. "Anyway, I've redesigned it based on something from our own Baseline," Keita and Oliver looked out into the room that the trial would take place in, and saw many, many shimmering doors.

"… Teleporters?" Keita muttered, looking very unhappy about this.

"I already have a teleportation spell," Oliver stated plainly but Keita shook her head.

"No, you don't want to use these teleporters."

"Oh, but you have to!" Church's voice interjected once more. "Only one sequence of teleporters will lead you to the exit, if you choose even one wrong you'll just end up going in circles forever. There is a pattern to it, it is a test of logic and memory!"

"Memory is the key!"

"Caboose! Shut up!"

"Ash did it!"

"Well, you two best get to it then. We can't be here for the whole Loop," Mr. Drippy shooed the two Anchors to start the Trial and Keita sighed.

"Is he always this pushy?" she questioned Oliver whom shrugged.

"Depends on the situation," they looked to the room of teleporters and Keita groaned.

"I am not looking forward to this…"

"I'm sure it won't be so bad, we just need to figure out the correct order. That's what your friend replacing Umbopa said," Oliver said confidently but Keita looked unconvinced.

"Oh, I'm sure it won't be that simple," Keita hissed as they got ready to choose a teleporter.

Two Hours Later…

"WE'RE BACK AT THE START!" Keita cried out after a long series of trial and error going through teleporters. Smoke emitted from both her and Oliver's bodies, and if one were in the same room as them they might pick up a slightly burning scent…

"Ok, we can do this. Let's just think about what paths we took, and the order we took them in," Oliver said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but he was clearly very tired.

"Arg! I'll show you thinking!" Keita growled before she began racing through the teleporters at rapid speed. Oliver watched awkwardly as the other Anchor continuously came out of random teleporter after teleporter. The burning smell seemed to intensify as the green flashes continued.

"Um, Keita-"

*Flash!*

"I don't think– "

*Flash!*

"That this plan– "

*Flash!*

"Is working very well…"

Keita came up next to Oliver, looking exhausted with a very visible trail of smoke coming from her body. She fell to her knees and glared up at the young wizard.

"Ok, I give. What's your idea?" she questioned. Oliver looked thoughtful for a moment as he glanced between the teleporters.

"There must be a pattern, the guy replacing Umbopa said so, it seems like each teleportation is random, but there's some connection," Oliver watched the teleporters for a short moment, he noticed a flash occur and nodded. "I think that flash indicates when the teleporters change!"

"Change?" Keita questioned.

"Yeah, the teleporters take you to another specific teleporter, but that destination changes periodically. That's why it seems like there's no way through, but I think it has a set amount of combinations… we need to figure out when it changes, and where each teleporter leads during each change. If we do that, we can find our way through," Oliver offered his hand to Keita, whom sighed and shook it.

"Ok then, Oliver. I admit I haven't had a good brain teaser in a while, let's get our puzzle-solving hats on!"

"Ok, let's– "Oliver paused when he noticed Keita pull something from her pocket and place it on her head; a hat with a big puzzle piece on it. "You… actually have a puzzle-solving hat?"

"It was a gift," Keita smiled fondly, the local Anchor just stared for a moment before nodding.

"Ok… Well, let's figure this out!"

* * *

Though it took a bit of testing, Oliver and Keita were able to confirm that the elevators took them to set destinations, and that it changed every 30 seconds. There were four 'combinations' that went in a set order. With that knowledge they managed to make it to the exit door rather quickly… after spending around an hour to figure it out.

"That actually wasn't so bad," Keita shrugged while looking at the door.

"It's usually a lot easier though, usually I just have to move a few statues around," Oliver shook his head.

"I'm not surprised, Church probably thought it was too easy. Well at least we're done with that and we can move onto the next trial," Keita smiled as they walked through the door, though a realization seemed to hit Oliver just as they did.

"Um, actually. I just remembered, this trial usually has– "the room they entered was similar to the previous one, only there were roughly twice as many teleporter doors, some of which were different colors, as well as hovering metal spheres, with guns… "–More than one… room…"

Keita's eye twitched, before she let out a scream that caused Oliver to cover his ears.

* * *

"So, you passed the trial?" Church asked as Keita and Oliver returned to the main chamber, both looking tired and burnt.

"You… are… a jerk," Keita hissed, shaking her fist at the (currently organic) Looping A.I.

"Meh, I've been called much worse than that."

"The final test awaits!" Caboose called from the Supreme Sage's throne.

"Caboose! There are two more Trials!" Church snapped at his friend and the Anchor of his home Loop.

"I have trouble counting sometimes," Caboose defended quickly.

"What do we have to do next," Keita sighed tiredly.

"Well, the next Trial would normally have us walking along two paths while we tried to stay in synch, but knowing how much he altered the previous Trial…" Oliver looked to Church and Caboose suspiciously.

"Hey now, don't be getting cold feet Ollie-boy," Mr. Drippy interjected quickly.

"I'm not, I'm just wondering what will be different about the next Trial," Oliver shrugged.

"I'm sure he has something horrible planned…" Keita muttered bluntly.

"Come on Keita, it wasn't that bad," The Looping A.I said lightly.

"So many teleporters…" Keita muttered, her eye twitching slightly.

"Don't be a baby," Church grumbled, Caboose raised his hand eagerly.

"You going to be okay?" Oliver questioned Esther's replacement in concern, Keita seemed to calm down before nodding.

"Yes… Yes, no problems," she looked to Church and Caboose with determined eyes. "What do you have in store for us?"

"So, you're really ready?" Church crossed his arms as he looked over the two children, they both nodded. "Very well, on to the Test of Friendship!"

"How bad could it be?" Oliver shrugged as they moved to go to the trial's chamber, Keita twitched again.

"I really wish you hadn't said that…"

* * *

"The original test would have you two walking along two paths simultaneously, needing to move with similar timing as the paths fell apart behind you," Church explained as he led the two children into the test room. "I chose to simply build upon that concept for my version."

Oliver and Keita's eyes widened at the sight before them; twisting paths, spikes coming in and out of the walls, swinging axes, moving platforms! Elevators, escalators, fire pits! There were too many traps along the long pair of paths to count!

"The pit of mad gophers was my idea!" Caboose exclaimed proudly.

"Pit of…"

"Mad gophers?" Oliver finished Keita's sentence, both looking over the edge and down the drop below the path, revealing that the floor was indeed covered with a swarm of _very_ angry looking gophers…

"Y-you're kidding, right?" Keita questioned, looking at Church like he was mad.

"No, if you want to be sages you'll do it," the Looping A.I stated plainly, as he turned to leave the room he glanced back at the two. "Oh, and no flying! I'll know if you do," after he left, Keita and Oliver looked at each other.

"Well, this is gonna a suck…" Keita muttered.

"Yeah, probably," Oliver nodded.

* * *

"Well… I was right," Keita let out a heavy sigh, falling to the floor, her hair looked slightly singed, her cloths ruffled up, and her body bruised.

"I don't ever want to do anything again…" Oliver groaned on the ground, not looking much better than his current companion.

"Oi! Get up Oliver! Yer not done yet!" Mr. Drippy exclaimed, lightly kicking Oliver. The young wizard grunted before pulling himself up. "You've still got one last trial to complete!"

"… Oh yeah," Oliver sighed, rubbing his head.

"What's this one going to be?" Keita asked, dreading what the answer would be.

"Well, in my experience of these kinds of situations, this is where a boss would come into play," Whisper stated, hovering over to Keita's side. The visiting Anchor let out a loud groan.

"Of course that's what we'll have to deal with…"

"Are you done whining? Or should we give you a few more minutes," Church questioned in an annoyed manner, Keita sent a glare his way that didn't faze him.

"Okay, okay. What horrible trial have you put together for us this time?"

"Actually, I haven't changed this trial."

"… You haven't?" Oliver questioned in surprise, feeling a bit relieved that all they would have to deal with would be a simple fight with Bashura. Not that Bashura was a pushover or anything, but at least it was something he knew how to handle.

"Nope, I felt there was no need. Though a change from what you'd expect has occurred," Church explained calmly. Oliver blinked in confusion, Keita crossed her arms and looked at Church skeptically.

"What sort of change are you referring to?" Keita asked.

"Oh, let me Church!" Caboose exclaimed in excitement, his friend shrugged before Caboose made a door appear that they entered.

"Prepare for the Test of Strength," Church stated as they entered the arena.

"Nothing seems different," Oliver pointed out, Church remained unfazed.

"Just give it a minute…" they watched as Caboose stepped forward, smiling.

"Freckles! Come!" he shouted out, Keita and Whisper both looked surprised, though Oliver and Mr. Drippy seemed confused.

"Freckles…?" Oliver looked to Keita for clarification.

"This isn't good," Keita muttered. The two looked as a massive beast dropped down into the arena. Oliver stared at it, it _looked_ like Bashura… but Oliver didn't remember Bashura having metallic armor plating, or mounted machine guns…

" **Yes, Captain Caboose?** " The creature spoke in a, intimidating, mechanical voice, looking down at the Supreme Sage's replacement. Caboose smiled, pointing towards Oliver and Keita.

"Freckles! Fetch!" the creature called 'Freckles' turned its attention towards the two children, readying its machine guns. Keita sighed before the two got ready for a battle.

* * *

"CHURCH! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS! I SWEAR!" Keita shouted, running from Freckle's gunfire with the use of her semblance, Spectral Fang out. Oliver stood nearby, casting spells to either attack their giant opponent, or deflect its attacks.

" **Firing!** " Freckles mechanical voice boomed as he kept shooting. Church, Caboose, Mr. Drippy and Whisper watched from the sidelines.

"Isn't this going a little too far?" Mr. Drippy asked in a concerned tone.

"Nah, they'll be fine," Church rebuffed casually.

"Go Freckles! Go!" Caboose cheered his 'pet' on, watching the fight with an excited expression.

"So, what's the plan to deal with this thing?" Oliver asked Keita, whom stopped at his side.

"The plan is basically; don't die!"

"… That's your plan!? That's not a plan!"

"Well then you come up with something!" Keita exclaimed, before rushing off to avoid gunfire. Oliver created a magical barrier to block the bullets from hitting him.

"This isn't looking too good for them, wissu…" Whisper muttered, hovering by Church's side.

"They're doing fine," Church shook his head.

"What fight are you watching!? Wissu!"

"They're still alive, aren't they?"

* * *

"We've been at this for like an hour, and made no progress!" Keita exclaimed tiredly. "That thing's armor is too tough for Spectral Fang to penetrate! And we need to focus too much on not getting shot to attack it anyway! What are we supposed to do!?"

"… I think we've won," Oliver pointed out blankly, Keita looked at him with a twitchy eye.

"… What!? We haven't even landed a hit on that thing!? How could we have won!?"

"Well… it's not firing anymore…" Keita's eyes widened at her companion's words, before looking up at the walking tank-beast, and noted that it had indeed stopped firing.

" **Error: Insufficient ammunition,** " Freckles spoke, his guns clicking a few times to show that they were indeed out of bullets. Keita and Oliver just kept staring with disbelieving expressions, a sudden clapping startled them.

"Well, looks like you managed to pass all the Trials," Church said, approaching while slowly clapping his hands.

"… You can't be serious," Keita tilted her head with an indiscernible expression.

"Freckles! Good boy! You did great! That was incredible!" Caboose praised as he patted one of Freckles' legs.

"Wouldn't he have access to unlimited ammo at this point…?" Keita muttered to herself, not really buying the idea that the Looping assault mech could run out of ammo.

"Look, the specifics don't matter. The point is you're done with the Trials and can now become sages," Church said with a nod.

"I don't care what the reason is, I just want to get out of here…" Oliver sighed with a tired expression, sipping from a cup of coffee that Keita assumed he had gotten from his sub-space pocket. "We still have a volcano to stop…"

"Yeah… volcano?" Keita glanced at Oliver with a confused look.

"Whatever, Caboose! Make them sages, or whatever!" Church called out to his friend, whom stopped petting Freckles and ran over.

"Okay! You guys won and now you get the reward!" Caboose quickly slapped something on both of their foreheads. Oliver and Keita flinched at the sudden action, before realizing they had both had something stuck on their head. The two pulled the stickers off their heads, and looked at them.

"What… is this?" Oliver asked, Keita didn't seem very surprised at what they had been given; stickers with an image of someone in blue armor, giving a thumbs up, with the words 'guud job' on it.

"Let me guess, you made these? Keita asked the Supreme Sage's replacement, whom beamed with pride.

"Church helped, but I did most of it!"

"You can show him how to befriend familiars, right?" Church asked Oliver, ignoring Caboose at the moment.

"Um, sure…"

"Now we're befriending familiars? Well at least that doesn't sound that different from my Baseline," Keita muttered while scratching her head.

"We'll talk about that more extensively, after we stop the volcano from erupting," Oliver stated, moving towards the temple's exit, Keita shrugged and followed, along with Mr. Drippy and Whisper.

* * *

"So, how exactly is climbing to the top of a volcano going to stop it from erupting?"

"Well, it involves stopping a lava monster, and Shadar, and… Look, I'll just teleport us to the top," Oliver muttered before pulling his wand out, Keita, Mr. Drippy, and Whisper shrugged before the young wizard, with a wave of his wand, did just that.

* * *

When the four did appear at the top of the volcano, Oliver and Mr. Drippy were expecting the giant, dinosaur-like lava monster that they would need to face. What they didn't expect, was for it to be yelling at Shadar.

"Get out of here! I'm not letting you trigger some eruption, just because you're pissed at the world or whatever! I just wanted to stay here, in peace, but you had to screw that up!" the lava monster shouted at the dark wizard, in a voice that Keita and Whisper recognized. Shadar noticed the appearance of the Loopers and backed off.

"This is not what I expected…" Shadar muttered, before teleporting away in a dark flash. The lava creature gave a huff of satisfaction.

"Yeah, you better run…"

"Roxy… is that you?" the little girl's voice took the dinosaur-like beast by surprise, she looked over at the approaching children curiously.

"Roxy?" Oliver questioned in confusion.

"Yeah, she's another Looper. Don't worry, we won't need to fight her," Keita assured before she looked back at Roxy, whom was still looking confused.

"I'm sorry… how do you know my name?"

"Oh… right, you wouldn't recognize me," Keita coughed in embarrassment, before taking a more dignified pose, Spectral Fang out and ready for effect. "I'm Keita Amano, AKA Nate Adams!" Roxy stared at the girl before her that claimed to be the Yo-kai Watch Branch's Anchor for a moment, with narrowed eyes. Before a soft smile settled on her rocky-face.

"Oh, Keita! Nice to see you again! You look adorable!"

"Um… thanks," Keita blushed a little, putting Spectral Fang back in her pocket.

"You know, there was recently a variant where the entire park was dedicated to the Carboniferous period! I saved the data from it, so if you show up in a future Loop I could easily convince dad to recreate it and make giant-bug-catching safaris open to the public!"

"That sounds like fun, but right now we're on a mission to stop that dark wizard that was trying to make you cause an eruption," Keita explained.

"His name is Shadar, and he's really not that bad, he's just misguided," Oliver insisted.

"I've heard that kind of excuse before…" Roxy muttered, before nodding at smiling at the children with their mystical companions. "Okay, I'll come along."

"… I'm sorry, what? I think I misheard her, I could've sworn the bloody _boss_ of this area just said she was going to join us," Mr. Drippy said, sticking his finger into one of his non-existent ears.

"That's exactly what she said, wissu," Whisper confirmed, the fairy stared at the whisp for a couple of seconds.

"WHAT!?"

"Well, we would sure appreciate the help…" Oliver smiled, a sweatdrop forming on his head at Mr. Drippy's reaction. "But, aren't you a little big…" after saying this, Oliver immediately covered his mouth, thinking he had said something rude. "Oh, um sorry! I um…" Roxy's reaction was to simply chuckle.

"Don't worry about it boy, I'm not that sensitive. I'm usually a Trex, of course I'm big!" she patted his head, Oliver was amazed that he wasn't burned at all by the creature's flames. "In fact, the female rex is generally considered to be larger than the male, so no issues for me there. It's mostly muscle anyway," the Looping rex flexed a little to make her point, the children chuckled at this. Whisper groaned and Mr. Drippy simply looked away.

"Well, insult or not, he has a point. You'd be very… conspicuous…" Keita pointed out. Roxy nodded, a smirk visible on her muzzle.

"Well, as you know, I'm pretty good at being inconspicuous. After all, it's not really considered _normal_ for a Trex to be walking around freely in my Branch," Roxy stated, before a flash occurred, and before the four other Loopers' knew it, the massive volcanic-monster, had been replaced with a dark skinned young woman, with fiery red hair, and burning orange eyes. She smirked, revealing a few fangs in her mouth.

"… That's not your usual human form," Keita said plainly, Roxy shrugged.

"I felt like letting my current form in this world guide me a little, it's nice to try something new every now and then anyway," she explained, before she walked over to them. "So, shall we get going?" Oliver glanced between each member of the group, before shrugging and pulling his wand out and teleporting them down from the volcano's top.

Unknown to the group, they had been watched by a dark wizard, that had never really left.

"Very strange indeed…" Shadar muttered contemplatively, before teleporting away (for real this time…)

 **5.2**

Katie hummed to herself as she brushed her hair, another Loop, another… whatever the heck their Baseline could be considered…

A tap on the window caught the young girl's attention, she got up to the window and opened it, a yellow, nine-tailed fox stared back at her.

"Um… hello?" Katie questioned in a confused tone, sure, she often went out of her way to befriend Kyubi, sometimes he was even the one to give her a yo-kai watch, but it wasn't often that he would just come to her house in his true form, during a seemingly-normal Baseline Loop…

"… I don't exactly know what's going on…" the fox muttered, seeming just as confused as her. "But I believe this belongs to you," Kyubi handed her his medal. Katie stared at the medal for a moment, before looking to the newly Looping yo-kai, before giving a kind smile.

"... Why don't you come in, we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

"… Time Loops, for real?" the nine-tailed fox questioned with a disbelieving look, the girl whom had just explained it all to him nodding with a grin.

"Yup, welcome to the madness Kiwi, I can't say this is expected… but I also can't say I'm not happy to have you with us," Katie smiled to her yo-kai friend, whom smiled back.

"Well… thanks Katie, I… hey! My name is KYUBI, not Kiwi!" Katie just laughed at this reaction, Kyubi crossed his arms and grumbled something under his breath.

 **5.3 KaiserRichard**

Needless to say, Keita was not amused with him being the victim of the Bite of '87. As the Yo-kai, Fuu2, he gave Freddy a death stare when he Awoke a couple years later.

The robot bear pulled out his sign and flipped it to make it say; "It's not MY fault that I don't wake up until AFTER it happens!"

 **5.4**

Keita Awoke in the halls; here he was again, replacing his sister as the 'R' in team RWBY, that at least was the case whenever his last name was 'Rose,' there were variations of course. Though despite it being considered a mistake on the computer, nobody had quite let him forget team 'NWBY…'

"I wish I didn't replace Ruby so much, I'd rather just Loop here so we could spend time together," Keita muttered, glancing to his side to see if his yo-kai butler had anything to say, only to pause when he saw no ghost following him. "… Oh right, not here… I need to stop talking to myself."

He made his way to the mess hall to join his team; none of whom were Awake, though when he got there he noticed something strange; Weiss talking to a fox faunus, and giggling!?

"What's going on?" Keita questioned the unAwake Yang and Blake.

"That guy over there's flirting with Weiss," Yang chuckled, Blake looked disinterested, as her unAwake self usually did at the Loops start.

"Hmm…" Keita glared at the fox faunus critically for a few moments, he looked familiar… "I think I should go check this out, I am her partner after all," Keita barely justified himself as he stepped forward.

"Oh, jealous little bro?" Yang questioned with a smirk. Keita stared at her blankly for a moment.

"… No," he said simply before he walked over to Weiss and her conversation partner.

"See you tonight than?" The fox faunus asked with a smirk.

"Um, sure," Weiss smiled a bit and blushed. Keita stepped in-between them and grabbed a hold of the boy's shirt.

"Excuse me Weiss, I do believe this is a friend of mine, and I need to speak with him," Keita, once again, barely justified his actions before he dragged the fox faunus off.

"Keita!" Weiss growled angrily, while Yang laughed in the background.

* * *

"Wow, slow down. You jealous I was moving in on your partner or something?" the fox faunus asked Keita after they had gotten out of earshot of all other students. Keita sighed and glared at him.

"Kyubi, what exactly are you up to?"

"What do you mean? I replaced that guy… John?"

"Jaune, is that why team JNPR wasn't sitting with us? I need to look over my Loop-memories again," Keita sighed. Before going back to glaring at the fox yo-kai turned faunus. "Why were you flirting with Weiss…? And why did it work!?"

"Oh Keita-kun, you should know by now that I have a way with women, and this place is jammed packed with ladies just waiting to give me their hearts!" Kyubi announced proudly. Keita's eye twitched.

"You're still on that? I thought you'd cut that out considering time keeps repeating…"

"No way, time won't be repeating forever. And in the mean time I'll be collecting the hearts of every fair maiden in the multiverse, I'll be well beyond a fox lord!" Keita face-palmed at Kyubi's explanation. "Still, I'll need to make sure not to be late for mine and Weiss' date. I may have gotten her interested, but I still need to get her to fall in love with me."

"You do realize that if she Wakes up, she is going to kill you? Don't you?"

"Kill me? Nah. I could woo any lady even if they were Looping," Kyubi waved off his local Anchor's concerns. "Besides, I can't stop now. I've already got dates lined up with the two females on my team, and a real cutie with bunny ears."

"Seriously!? You are so dead…" Keita said seriously. Kyubi flicked a strand of his hair and regarded Keita without much concern.

"Oh, calm down Mr. Drama. I told you, I know what I'm doing. If you want, I could teach you a thing or two…"

"NO!"

"Fine, more for me," Kyubi shrugged with an arrogant smirk before he started to leave. Keita sighed, before he glared seriously at the leaving fox faunus.

"Kyubi," he glanced back the Anchor's way, curiously. "Don't you dare try to hit on my sisters! That includes Ruby, even though she's not here. You can risk your life hitting on every other girl throughout the entire multiverse, but I draw the line there!"

"Whatever you say, Keita-kun," Kyubi sighed, though he didn't look like he took the boy's threat seriously. Keita glared at him as he watched him leave.

"… Oh, he is so, so dead."

* * *

"Hey Keita, you know that Jaune guy?" Yang asked her little brother as they relaxed in their room. It had been a few weeks since Keita had last spoken to the only other Awake Looper currently at Beacon, though he had heard talk of him from Weiss, and occasionally other girls… He was a little weirded out that he was going by 'Jaune' as opposed to Kyubi… or Kiwi, or something.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Well, you know how he was kind of, sort of, but not 'officially' dating Weiss?"

"Yeah?"

"Well. I think he might also be dating Blake…"

"…"

* * *

"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!?"

"Ow! Volume!" Kyubi winced as he rubbed his fox ears. As soon as Yang said that she thought Kyubi might have been going out with Blake, he had marched straight over to team JNPR's room and dragged the fox faunus off for interrogation. "And not quite yet. I haven't managed to convince her, she's a tough nut to crack. But I'll get her eventually, no girl can resist me forever."

"You are messing with forces you cannot possibly comprehend you stupid fox!" Keita shouted angrily, he looked like he wanted to choke Kyubi, but he quickly backed off. "Ok, ok. You know what. No!"

"No?"

"No! I'm not warning you anymore! You go dig your own grave that will last a thousand Loops! I'm not helping you anymore!" Keita shouted before he turned to stomp off.

"Helping me? You've been trying to hinder me since you ran into me," Kyubi pointed out confusedly.

"DONE!" Keita shouted again, before leaving.

"… Whatever, he's just jealous," Kyubi huffed.

* * *

When Cinder entered Beacon along with Emerald and Mercury, claiming to be an exchange student like she usually did, Keita received a ping, and a look from the… sister that told him she was Awake. Keita wasn't sure if Kyubi had even noticed the ping, as he was immediately at Cinder's side, a confident smile on his face. Keita moved to interfere, but stopped himself and quietly sit down.

"What is he doing so close to her?" Weiss questioned, suspiciously. Keita noted that several other girls seemed this way too, Kyubi had apparently been able to keep his multiple dating partners mostly secret, only really causing a few rumors. Though he was being incredibly stupid to attempt to woo a new girl right in front of a bunch of them… still, Keita considered his approaching an Awake, or unAwake, Cinder in such a way much, much stupider.

"Hey there, hot stuff," Kyubi greeted smoothly, Keita facepalmed in the background. Emerald looked at Kyubi with disgust, while Mercury seemed amused… but Cinder just gave a calm, smile…

* * *

"I warned him," Keita muttered, shaking his head as he looked at Kyubi, huddled on the floor, shivering.

"Her eyes! They're the eyes of death!"

"Whatever," Keita sighed. "By the way, all those girls you went out with, they're pretty angry."

"Oh…"

"Also, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and Winter are all Awake now."

"Oh… Wait, who's Winter?"

"Weiss' older sister."

Kyubi blinked, before he saw many, many angry eyes staring at him. Though the ones that were most fear inducing were the burning red eyes of Yang, whom stood protectively in front of Blake, and the cold, unfeeling glare of what looked like an older version of Weiss. Kyubi shivered, terror visible in his shaking pupils, he looked up to the Anchor for some hope of salvation, but Keita quickly sped away.

"Bye! Have fun!"

 **5.5 Boohoooo!**

Komasan checked over his director list as his brother Komajiro walked up to him.

"Since when did you want to make sitcoms?" Komajiro asked.

"Ever since I hung out with Tenten from the Naruto branch!" Komasan cheered.

Ridley flew in.

"Ridley, where have you been?" Komasan frowned.

"I tried to prank Samus on the way here. It didn't end well." Ridley shrugged.

Jibanyan and Doc Louis were gorging themselves on Choco-bars backstage.

"Dang it you two! You're needed on the catwalk to watch the sandbags!" Whisper exclaimed.

"Relax! What's the worst that canya happen?" Jibanyan eyerolled.

The sound of A leg crunching was heard, followed by a scream of pain from Little Mac.

"MACCY BOY!" Doc Louis exclaimed, running off.

"...Oops." Jibanyan chuckled nervously.

* * *

Komasan sighed as Little Mac was wheeled away on a stretcher.

"Who can we find to replace the lead actor on such short notice?" He groaned.

The sounds of screaming were heard, followed by crashing, followed by Captain K'nuckles and Flapjack falling into the studio.

"... How would you two like to be in a TV show?" Komasan smiled.

"Will we get any candy?" K'nuckles asked.

Komasan pulled out three pounds of candy from his subspace pocket.

"WE'RE INNNNNN!" K'nuckles and Flapjack exclaimed.

And so, Ridley adjusted the lights, Jibanyan and Doc Louis checked the sandbags and Komajiro yelled "ACTION!"

Theme song:

 _Whisper: Hey you two! To learn respect, you're going to the country!_

 _K'nuckles: But dad, that place is weird and dumpy!_

 _Flapjack: I don't wanna go!_

 _Whisper: Too bad yo!_

 _One cut later..._

 _Peridot: There goes our big city family!_

 _Lapis: Our relation makes no sense to me..._

 _Peridot: A weirdo wrote this script!_

 _Flapjack and K'nuckles: HOO BOY DO WE FEEL OFF TO THE RIPPED!_

 _All: The Country Dayssssss!_

* * *

The crew was trying to film the next episode... emphasis on trying.

"Yeesh, what kind of bumpkin talks like this?" Peridot groaned, reading the script.

Komasan, looking unamused, began to walk up to the gem... but was interrupted by Whisper.

"KOMASAN! K'nuckles and Flapjack are playing keep-away with my Yo-Kai Pad!" The butler wailed.

Komasan, with a sigh, put a stop to that.

Jibanyan and Doc Louis, distracted by Choco Bars again, were oblivious to the fact a sandbag was falling. Said sandbag promptly landed on Komasan.

"Oh my swirls..." The Yo-Kai groaned.

"HA HA!" Ridley laughed, dressed like Nelson Muntz.

Lapis used her water abilities to remove the sandbag, but didn't watch where she was throwing it, causing it to hit the cameras, smashing them.

Komajiro blinked as Komasan groaned.

 **5.6 GarnettFoxy**

Nate smiled as the Crank-A-Kai popped out a capsule "Wonder who I'll get this time, Manjimutt, Roughraff..." He twisted open the capsule coughing as an explosion of dust covered his vision.

"T-Wrecks, ROUUUUUAAAAR!" The small T-rex like Yo Kai blinked and looked around looking embarrassed "Did I really just say that?"

"It's a thing like Pokemon saying their name, Hi Roxy,"

"Hi Nate! Been forever since I last saw you in the hotel." The Looper smiled walking by his side.

"Sorry I keep considering going in but never quite managing it." Nate shrugged.

"I understand, though if it helps Grey helped me install the multiverses biggest bug house which we're filling with insects from every loop."

"... Ok I may have to pay up just to see that."

"You can hunt them as much as you like."

"... Can I pay now or later?"

 **5.7**

"So, you're Kyubi?"

"Yes, and you're Jaune," The nine-tailed fox yo-kai looked over the human briefly as they sat at a table in Big Macintosh's bar.

"You replaced me a few Loops back, huh?"

"Yeah, that Loop was fun… until the end," Kyubi shuddered a little as he recalled what had happened, Jaune nodded calmly as he took a sip of his cider.

"So, I heard you dated a lot of women while you were in my shoes…"

"Yeah, what, you want some tips?" Kyubi asked curiously, his ears perking a bit.

"… No," Jaune shook his head, finishing his drink. He gave Kyubi a pleasant smile… before punching him in the face, hard.

"OUCH! What was that for!?" Kyubi shouted, holding his muzzle in pain. "I thought you weren't the violent type!"

"I'm not. But you tried to romance my wife, and my daughter. Even if they weren't awake, I think I'm being pretty lenient," Jaune stated, helping Kyubi back to his feet.

"Whatever, a punch can't affect a yo-kai of my caliber that much anyway," Kyubi huffed.

"Oh, I had to go easy on you because they want to talk to you too," Jaune gestured over to some other tables, where Ren, Qrow, and Grif were all seated, glaring at him rather heatedly. Kyubi gulped.

"Is it too late to say 'sorry'?"

 **5.8**

Keita cast his fishing line into the river, he had a small smile on his face as he waited patiently for any fish to bite.

"Keita-kun?" Whisper floated over to the Anchor's side with a questioning expression. "What are you doing? I thought you had given up on fishing because of Ningyo? Wissu."

"I had," Keita chuckled, keeping his focus on the water. "But I was watching those episodes of our hub-back-up again, and I noticed something: One of the activities we do with Semimaru after we wake him is fishing, and I catch a normal fish! It's a small detail, I had mostly forgotten about it, but it's there!"

"Really? But…" Whisper looked unsure, looking between his master/friend and the water.

"So, I got to thinking, it must be that there's a cutoff point! After I meet Ningyo, all I can catch while fishing is her, but if I fish before the point I meet her I should be fine!" Keita announced his conclusion proudly.

"… Well I'll be, that makes a lot of sense. Wissu," Whisper admitted, Keita nodded back to him, but a tug on the line brought his attention back to the water.

"Here it is! I'm finally going to catch a fish!" Keita shouted, reeling in the line. Whisper watched in anticipation as Keita pulled the fishing line from the water, revealing… Ningyo, struggling with the hook in her hair.

"GET THIS THING OFF ME!"

"… But… but," Keita glanced between his fishing pole and the struggling yo-kai, dumfounded. "But… I haven't… the cutoff… Semimaru...?"

"I think you jinxed it, wiss," Whisper sighed in disappointment as Keita just stared blankly into space.

"Hey! What's the big idea you jerk!? Get your stupid hook off me! Hey, are you listening to me!? Don't just ignore me!" Keita finally acknowledged the shouting yo-kai by slowly looking towards her. "Finally! Look, I don't know what you think you're doing, but I don't much appreciate being dragged from my home by some magic-fishing pole! So, if it's not too much to ask, could you just– "Keita cut her off by tossing his fishing pole at her. "GAH!?"

"I'm going to see what Fumi-chan's doing," Keita grunted before he stormed off. Whisper looked between Keita whom was walking away and Ningyo, whom was struggling to untangle herself from the fishing line. The yo-kai butler sighed before shrugging.

 **5.9**

"It's not fair!" Inaho sat in her chair at her and USApyon's detective agency, a pout on her face with her arms crossed.

"Huh, what's not fair? Dani," USApyon looked up from polishing his blaster. Haku looked over as well.

"Keita has a yo-kai form, and now Fumi has a yo-kai form!? Where's my yo-kai form!?" Inaho exclaimed in outrage. "It's not fair! Why do they get yo-kai forms and I don't!?" USApyon stared at her with a dull expression, Haku just looked confused.

"… Inaho, you do realize that to have a yo-kai form you'd need to die, either in Baseline or some official-source variant like the game variant, right? Dani," USApyon pointed out. Haku blinked, before deciding to ignore the conversation.

"Not fair! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!" Inaho wailed as she flailed her arms about and rocked her chair erratically, her eyes firmly shut with tears streaming from them. USApyon sweatdropped.

"I can't even go Vader Mode at this, dani," the otter yo-kai muttered, shaking his head. Inaho continued her tantrum, while Haku suddenly found one of her comics very interesting.

 **5.10**

Adam stood, his swords ready. Blake and Yang both had experienced this enough to know how to avoid him, and beat him effortlessly. But something unexpected had stepped in.

"Stop right there, zura!" the little white and blue lion-dog said, standing threateningly. Adam stopped his charge only to stare at the little creature.

"Komasan, you might not want to stand there," Yang urged the yo-kai, she wasn't sure when he showed up but with how Komasan typically acted she didn't think it was in his best interests to get in Adam's way.

"I am not Komasan right now," Komasan turned to face Yang and Blake, a Ping alerted them that he was indeed Awake. "I am the one with seven stars on his belly! Komashiro! Zura!" The two native Loopers looked unsure of how to respond to this. Adam on the other hand just looked annoyed.

"I don't care who or what you are! I'm not letting some mutant marshmallow get in my way!" the mad faunus charged forward, however Komasan, or Komashiro, stood firmly, and swiftly dodged out of the way of Adam's charge and poked his back, firmly but gently. "Huh!?"

"Pressure Points…" Komasan said in a serious tone. "This one is connected to feelings of wanderlust, and curiosity… you are already, a kitten whom has just opened its eyes, ready to explore the world for the first time," Adam, Yang and Blake all stood silently. Before Adam suddenly gave a gasp as he fell to his knees, and his body seemed to twist and change.

"What the...?" Blake muttered, Yang just stared in shock and awe. In Adam's place was now a tiny, black kitten, it meowed innocently as he it started to wander around the area, curiously looking at everything as if he had never seen it before.

"You are already squished, zura!" Komasan exclaimed, taking a pose.

"… Blake, remind me never to piss Komasan off," Yang said while looking in disbelief.

"Noted, I'm not sure if I should be amazed, or terrified," Blake sighed.

 **5.11**

"I'm the first yo-kai Nate ever made friends with, I would definitely be his starter, you're simply a first capture, at best," Whisper stated smugly as Jibanyan glared at him.

"What!? You a starter? You're a pokédex at best! I'm his most faithful companion and battle partner! Who's the first one he calls when he's in a jam? That's right, meow!"

"Actually, it is I whom he calls upon first! To tell him exactly what kind of meddlesome yo-kai he is dealing with in any given situation so he can make a logical decision on his next course of action!"

"Right, pokédex," Jibanyan concluded bluntly, the two glared at each other for a few moments, before Nate entered his room.

"Ok, what's up now?"

"Oh, Nate," Whisper floated over to his friend/master and bowed. "That little hairy-fireball and I were just discussing on; if we were Pokémon, which of us would be your starter? Obviously, it would be me seeing as I was the first yo-kai companion you ever made," Whisper said smugly.

"You don't even fall into a starter type! You're a drain-attribute! I'm a fire-attribute! Have you seen that nyew fire cat starter pokémon!? That fits me to a T, it even becomes a wrestler worthy of holding the Eye of the Tiger!"

"Oh, you little! Nate! Tell him he's out of his mind and that I'd be your starter!" Whisper looked to the Anchor angrily.

"Nyo! Tell him he's out of his mind Nyate! He doesn't even battle!" Jibanyan cried out as he also looked to Nate. The Watch holder glanced between the two for a moment and put on a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm, if yo-kai were pokémon, I'd have to say my starter would be…" Nate stood silent in thought for a moment… before falling limp.

"Nate!/Nyate!" Whisper and Jibanyan both cried out in surprise, before a blue form came out of Nate's body and took shape into a, now familiar yo-kai.

"Fuu! Fuu! Fuu2!" Nate's yo-kai form announced before smirking at the two now dead-eyed yo-kai. A moment passed before shock was replaced with anger.

"What the heck Nate!? You can't choose yourself as your starter!"

"That's totally nyot fair Nyate! That's cheating!"

"You asked me a question, I gave an answer," Fuu2 stuck out his tongue at the two causing them to yell some more. Hidabat watched from the closet and chuckled a little in amusement at the scene.

 **5.12**

"Hey Inaho! Guess who I replaced last Loop, dani!" USApyon walked into the detective agency eagerly, Inaho looked up from a comic she was reading.

"Who did you replace? Sailor Moon's cat?" Inaho questioned, USApyon gave her a dull look before shaking his head.

"No, that's more suited for Jibanyan anyway, dani…" he quickly regained his composition and pulled a small device from his sub-space pocket. "Check it out! Dani!" he exclaimed, before activating the lightsaber, the blade of which glowed blood red.

"Huh, you're a Jedi?" Inaho asked, not looking very impressed and going back to her comic.

"Sith, actually, dani," USApyon glared at his human friend as she laughed at something she read.

"Whatever, USApyon. I'm really happy for you," she said, absentmindedly.

"That's 'Darth USApyon' from now on," USApyon insisted, a satisfied smirk on his face. Inaho blinked before looking over at him again.

"… Nobody will ever call you that… Maybe 'Darth Namekichi!'"

"…"

" **VADER MODE!"**

"Ah! Stop! Sorry! No force-choke!" Inaho cried as USApyon chased her around with his new lightsaber.

 **5.13**

"Rudy! Or Akamaru!" The little red cat exclaimed, before he jumped under Nate's bed and then came back out in his traditional nekomata form.

"Jibanyan! Wielder of the Paws of Fury!" he shouted, before his body flashed and he was incased in metal, his form shifting to that of a robotic one.

"Robonyan!" he shouted in his new, deeper voice. "The futuristic, cyborg nekomata that can produce chocolate bars endlessly!" to make his point he spat out a few chocobars. His colors shifted to that of a half white, half blue robotic cat, a little satellite-like object sprouted from his head.

"Robonyan F! The upgrade to the already futuristic Robonyan!" He did a pose while Nate and Katie sat before him, looking bored.

"… I'm sorry, I don't get the point of this," Katie muttered, as politely as she could.

"Yeah, me neither," Nate sighed, a little less politely.

"Don't you get it! These forms are different, but at the end of the day they're still me!" Robonyan F exclaimed proudly. "I have so much future ahead of me in Baseline! Doesn't that inspire you!?"

"But we have no idea what to expect from Baseline, the future Robonyan comes from is different every time," Nate shook his head in thought. "We don't even know if he really is you from the future, or if he's just a robot that _thinks_ he's you, like his game-variant description says," the Anchor shrugged, Robonyan F stared at him blankly before glowing and reverting to Jibanyan.

"… That wasn't really the point I was trying to make Nyate," he said, his ears twitching a bit.

"What was your point?" Katie asked curiously. Jibanyan blinked, glancing between the two humans for a moment, before putting a paw to his chin.

"I'm… not sure anymore… I have a lot of forms?"

"Next turn into Goldenyan," Nate suggested, the nekomata shrugged.

"No Baseline evidence for that nyan even being me, but sure, why nyot?"

 **5.14**

Keita gave a sigh of content as he relaxed on the beach, nobody else was Awake, but he had managed to divert most Baseline yo-kai annoyances so far and was just trying to enjoy a vacation… It was a little lonely, but when you're the Anchor you get used to lonely Loops.

He did remember that it was now around the time that Umibōzu would show up and make him, Eddie and Bear super relaxed… too relaxed. Oh well, he had already resolved not to let himself be possessed, so he would ignore it… though he would try to make sure his friends pants didn't fall.

Keita was brought out of his thoughts by the loud scream of Kanchi.

"There's something big in the water!" the boy yelled as he ran towards shore, Keita blinked… that wasn't right.

"What is that thing!?" Kuma yelled fearfully as he backed away from the water, Fumi and her friends also looked terrified. Keita stood up and looked towards the water, nothing was apparent at first, except for what might have been an oddly shaped patch of water… then something came rolling onto shore.

The massive creature was vaguely humanoid in shape, appeared in to made entirely of water, and moved around on two massive stone rollers that looked ready to crush anything in its way. The beast roared loudly, despite not appearing to have anyway to vocalize, before rolling forwards.

"… Okay, why is the Waterwraith here!?" Keita exclaimed to himself, while the other beach goers panicked. He sighed before reaching for his sub-space pocket. So much for relaxation…

 **5.15**

"What is that device?" The yo-kai Edison questioned Keita after he had been summoned and helped fix the electricity problems. Keita blinked before holding up his wrist with the Yo-Kai Watch U on it.

"Um, the Yo-Kai Watch?"

"A Yo-Kai Watch!" Edison suddenly exclaimed, holding up one of his fingers. "Yes! Yo-Kai Watch, I know that because I invented it! Me! I invented the Yo-Kai Watch!"

"What…?" Keita blinked in confusion. "No, my grandfather– "

"What does it do?" Edison suddenly asked in a calmer tone, poking at the watch. Keita stared at him for moment before deciding to answer.

"… It helps me summon my yo-kai friends using– "

"Summons yo-kai friends using, um, stuff!" Edison interrupted loudly. "I was about to say that, because I invented it!"

"… Whisper, what's with Edison this Loop?" the Anchor whispered to his Looping butler, whom floated over and started looking on his Yo-Kai Pad.

"Let's see… Maybe something here will explain– "

"What's that you're using?" Edison suddenly asked Whisper.

"My Yo-Kai Pad, I use it to– "

"Yo-Kai Pad!" Edison suddenly interrupted again, Whisper's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I knew that because I invented it! My name is Edison, I rule!"

"… Seriously Whisper, what's up with this?" Keita whispered to the Looping ghost, again.

"… I honestly can't say, but it's annoying, wissu," Whisper groaned.

"I'll say, he's even worse than your Baseline self."

"Yeah… Hey! Wissu!"

 **5.16**

"Caboose! You're dead!" Fuu2 shouted as he chased the other Anchor around Blood Gulch.

"I'm sorry Keita-Nate! You weren't Church!"

"I don't care! You blew my head off!" The enraged yo-kai shouted as he floated after Caboose.

"So, what's going on?" Grif asked as he lumbered over to Tucker, who was watching the scene, when he saw it for himself. "Oh… He looped in as Church, didn't he?"

"Yes, and Caboose had the… usual reaction, though he tried to apologize once he realized it was Keita, but…" Tucker gestured to the scene, Fuu2 shouted random words of rage while Caboose ran from the ghost.

"I warned him this could happen," Grif sighed, shaking his head.

"Anyway, I was hoping you could calm your brother down a bit."

"I'm going to possess you!" Fuu2 shouted threateningly.

"No! I'm sorry! Tucker did it!"

"… Maybe, I'll give him a few more minutes," Grif shrugged.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tucker asked in concern.

"Caboose needs to learn his lesson… plus, he shot my brother," Griff gained a bit of an evil tone at the end of that sentence. So, the two sat there, Keita had shifted into a larger, skeleton-like form and had taken out Spectral Fang, continuing to chase the panicking Caboose around.

* * *

"I'm really sorry Keita-Nate."

"Caboose, it's fine…"

"But I am, really!"

"I already said it's fine," Fuu2 groaned as he hovered by Caboose's side.

"… It's just, you weren't Church– "

"Caboose! I said it's fine!" the blue ghost snapped, the local Anchor backed up a bit and nodded. Fuu2 sighed and shook his head. "I get it, okay. You have trouble processing stuff when Church isn't here… Doesn't mean you can go around shooting people's heads off, but you're my friend and I forgive you."

"… Thanks, Keita-Nate."

"You're welcome, now come on, I need a new body, Grif probably already got Sarge to make one," the Yo-Kai Watch Anchor smiled as he started towards Red Base. "Then I want to find out what the heck is up with the Director this Loop, because I don't seem to be an A.I at all!"

 **5.17**

Keita sighed, casting a fishing line into the water.

"Keita-kun?" Whisper floated over to him, glancing out into the river with concern before looking back at Keita. "What are you up to? Wissu."

"Going to catch Ningyo, argue with her, get her medal again," Keita said blandly.

"… Don't you not like doing that? Wissu," Whisper questioned skeptically, Keita shrugged.

"Nobody else but you and I Awake this Loop, just going Baseline for the most part… I don't really want to get into anything unexpected right now…" Keita said uncaringly. "I just don't know what to do I guess…"

"Well, maybe we should just go on and do something fun, together? You never know when something unexpected will happen in the Loops, wissu!" Whisper offered kindly, Keita nodded, a small smile forming on his face.

"Yeah, just let me…" Keita started, but he noticed he fishing pole being tugged, he quickly grabbed hold and pulled on it, a splash resounded from the water before the sounds of struggling became clear.

"Let me off the line!" Ningyo shouted as she struggled, the fishing hook tangled in her hair. Keita pulled her to shore and got to work untangling it.

"Hold still," he grunted as she squirmed around, Whisper sweatdropped.

"Perhaps this wasn't the best way to find her, wissu…"

"Don't you think I know that, sometimes you just… Go with Baseline," Keita sighed, pulling the fishing hook free of the aquatic yo-kai's hair. "There."

"Darn it Nate! What did I tell you about fishing!?" Ningyo exclaimed angrily. Keita and Whisper's eyes widened slightly.

"… What did you just call him? Wissu…"

"Keita… That's his name, right?" Ningyo looked between Keita and Whisper's confused faces for a moment, before a quizzical look crossed her own face. "Wait, no, it's Nate, right? Wait, what's going on?"

"… Ningyo? What do you remember?" Keita asked seriously, Ningyo twitched as she looked at Keita again.

"My name is… Mermaidyn? No… Ningyo? Um, my head hurts!" she clutched her head as she shook a little.

"Okay, calm down," Keita got her attention again, he leaned down to her eyes level and gave her a serious look. "Okay, Ningyo… or Mermaidyn, I need to explain some stuff to you… Some really heavy stuff…"

"… Well this was certainly unexpected, wissu," Whisper added blankly.

* * *

"… Time travel?" Ningyo (they had decided to call her by the name the current Loop designated her as) muttered, staring at Keita in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's basically what it amounts to," Keita shrugged, sitting beside her. Whisper floated nearby, silently observing.

"Why me? How did this happen?"

"Not sure, it usually seems to be associated with proximity to the Anchor, but exact reasons for Looper Activation as hard to pinpoint," Keita scratched his head unsurely.

"Perhaps it was because… Well, you can't seem to fish without reeling her in? Wissu," Whisper offered weakly. The two other Loopers looked at him for a moment.

"Wait a second… Are you telling me, I'm trapped in this weird… Time Loop, because this guy's magic fishing pole won't catch anything but me!?" Ningyo exclaimed, looking like she was going to lose her mind.

"I don't know if that's exactly the reason, and you know my name, so say it," Keita muttered as he got to his feet and glared at the mermaid-like yo-kai.

"Do I? Cause I have one set of memories that says your name is Keita, and another that says it's Nate! Which is it!?"

"Both are correct, but right now it's Keita," the Anchor answered simply, Ningyo didn't seem satisfied with the response.

"Right now, what the heck does that even mean!?"

"You'll figure it out eventually… it's not as hard as it seems," Keita assured the new Looper as she took a few breaths to calm down.

"I just… How did this happen?" she asked while clutching her head, Keita looked towards Whisper whom shrugged, before he groaned.

"That's… a long story, that I don't have most of the details of… or really any of the details… Something broke the multiverse, that's all we know…" the boy admitted, Ningyo sighed in defeat before nodding.

"So, what now?"

"Now? Well not much, but we'll have some news next Loop where the others are Awake," Keita nodded, Ningyo groaned, glancing between his fishing pole and the water.

 **5.18**

"You two are selfish jerks!" Inaho shouted before hiding slamming her head on her desk. Nate and Katie both stared at her in confusion, they had come over to Inaho's house to play some video games with her, and this was not the greeting they were expecting. The two glanced questioningly towards USApyon, whom was polishing his lightsaber on the bed.

"Don't look at me, I can't deal with her when she's like this. Dani," the otter yo-kai stated in a disinterested tone.

"… Inaho, what's up with you?" Nate questioned, the glasses wearing girl got up from her desk and glared at him and Katie.

"What's up? I'll tell you what's up! How come I don't get an awesome dark yo-kai form!?"

"… What?" Katie questioned, she and Nate shared confused looks.

"First I don't get a regular yo-kai form! Now these new dark yo-kai show up, and you two get new bug-like yo-kai forms and I'm still left out!" Inaho cried out, slamming her fists on her desk. Nate and Katie both sweatdropped.

"Those 'dark yo-kai' or whatever, haven't even effected Baseline yet…" Katie muttered in confusion.

"Well, to be fair, neither has Miifuu," Nate pointed out, the girl beside him shrugged before they turned their attention back to Inaho, whom seemed to be throwing a tantrum.

"Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!" she shouted, repeatedly slamming her fists on her desk. "Even your friends Eddie and Bear get new forms! They don't even have yo-kai watches!"

"… Neither do I, in Baseline," Katie said blandly, this didn't seem to make Inaho any happier, or more reasonable.

"Why does she even want a solid yo-kai form? She does realize that equals dying, right?" Nate questioned USApyon.

"Told you already, not dealing with this. Dani," USApyon scoffed, turning away from them.

"Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!" Inaho continued to cry out, Nate and Katie glanced at each other and sighed.

 **5.19**

"Once we're at Chiyo-chan's I'm not going to let you make copies with me, Osaka." Tomo hissed snidely.

"Once we're at Chiyo-chan's I'm not going to let you make copies with me, Osaka." Tomo hissed snidely.

"… Make copies?" Ayumu questioned blankly, confused why there were suddenly two Tomos staring at her, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing things clearly.

"That's right!"

"That's right!" the two Tomos shouted, one after the other, they both blinked when they heard each other and stiffly turned to look.

"I see, so your real plan is– "Yomi started in a sarcastic tone, but jumped a little in surprise when she saw two Tomos. "What the!?" the two Tomos glared at one another, they mirrored each other's movements for a moment before crossing their arms.

"Who are you supposed to be!?"

"Who are you supposed to be!?"

"I'm Tomo Takino!"

"I'm Tomo Takino!"

"You can't be Tomo Takino if I'm Tomo Takino!"

"You can't be Tomo Takino if I'm Tomo Takino!" the two growled at each other as Yomi and Ayumu stared at the scene blankly.

"Huh, who would'a thought Tomo had a twin sister?" Ayumu questioned, glancing at the stone-faced Yomi.

"Alright there's only one way to settle this!"

"Alright there's only one way to settle this!" The two Tomo's exclaimed, before turning to Yomi with fire in their eyes, she took a step back.

"Yomi!"

"Yomi!"

She took another step back…

"Come on! You know me!"

"Come on! You know me!"

Another step back…

"Tell this girl here that she has no right ripping off my style!"

"Tell this girl here that she has no right ripping off my style!"

And another step back…

"Yomi, tell her!"

"Yomi, tell her!"

"Yomi!"

"Yomi!"

Yomi kept backing up until she walked out of sight, never turning away from the Tomos as she did, as if they were dangerous animals that would pounce if you faced your back to them. Ayumu and the two Tomos stood in silence for a few moments, before Ayumu looked at her identical companions with a blank smile.

"So… I guess it'll just be us three, huh?" the Tomos glared at the other girl.

"Osaka!"

"Osaka!"

"Osaka!" the three Tomo's blinked, before looking at each other in shock.

"Three!?"

"Three!?"

"Three!?"

Meanwhile, at the home of the local Anchor, where the three UnAwake girls were going before the appearance of the mysterious doubles, a visiting Looper was speaking to said Anchor about something rather topical.

"So, these yo-kai are around this Loop?" Chiyo asked as she and her dog; Mr. Tadakichi, sat across from Nate and his yo-kai butler Whisper.

"Yup, Whisper here proves it. And if you killed me I'd become a yo-kai… But don't test that," Nate explained, Chiyo blinked at the odd choice of words.

"Well, I have noticed a few odd things this Loop, but they haven't seemed to be causing any real trouble," she assured with a smile. Nate nodded.

"True, they're pretty lax normally. They just cause the occasional annoying happenstance, but ordinary yo-kai aren't usually a big deal, just thought I'd warn you since there are some rowdy ones."

"Well it's much appreciated, Nate, Whisper. I hope you two enjoy our Loop, regardless of yo-kai."

"We will, it has been rather peaceful," Whisper nodded in approval.

"I don't know about peaceful, but it's been fun enough, we'll be going now. My parents are likely wondering where I went," Nate waved before he left with Whisper trailing behind.

"Good bye, visit again sometime this Loop!" Chiyo waved, Mr. Tadakichi barked in approval.

"We will!" Nate waved back as they left the building. "Don't think anything too bad will happen this Loop," the watch-wearer nodded to Whisper as they walked off the property.

"I don't know, I'm a little suspicious of that group of mimikin I saw earlier," Whisper sighed with his arms crossed.

"Oh, don't worry about it, mimikin aren't the worst of yo-kai. And I'm sure anything that happens will be fine, let's just enjoy our summer," Nate assured with confidence.

"You're probably right," Whisper gave a light smile as they continued…

Back with Ayumu and Tomo though, the problem had escalated. There were now about eight Tomos arguing with each other, Ayumu could only stand back and stare at this strange turn of events.

"I'm Tomo! I'll prove it!"

"I'm Tomo! I'll prove it!" two shouted at each other, several of them were arm wrestling to determine whom was the real one, and a couple were playing rock-paper-scissors.

"I'm Tomo I tell you! No, I'm Tomo! Shut up! I'm Tomo! Yomi where are you!?"

"… Gee, Tomo sure has a lot of sisters," Ayumu concluded with a small smile.

 **5.20**

" _Haniwa…"_

"Whisper… What is this thing?" Keita questioned, staring at the strange statue that sat in his living room, a voice coming from it that almost sounded like wind.

" _Haniwa…"_

"Er…" Whisper stared at the thing in confusion, before he started looking through the yo-kai pad. "I… Don't think this is a yo-kai… Whiss."

" _Haniwa…"_

"Well, yeah. I know it's not a yo-kai, that was obvious. But… What _is_ it?"

" _Haniwa…"_

"… I think it's a haniwa, whiss," Whisper shrugged, Keita just stared at him blankly.

"… Okay, what is a haniwa?"

" _Haniwa…"_

"You've never heard of them? Whiss?"

"Have you?"

"…"

" _Haniwa…"_

"Well, it must be here for some reason, whiss…" Whisper looked to be in thought.

"Or, it could just be Loop randomness," Keita muttered with a bored expression. Jibanyan wandered into the room, eating a chocobar, before spotting Keita and Whisper standing with thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Um… What's with you guys? Nya," Jibanyan questioned, taking a bite of the candy in his paw.

"We're trying to figure out what this haniwa is doing here… And what a haniwa is," the Anchor answered simply, the nekomata blinked in confusion.

"… What haniwa?"

"This, huh!?" Keita and Whisper both looked surprised when they looked at the spot the strange, clay figure had been, only to find nothing there. "… Where did it go!?"

* * *

Fumika strolled into her house with a carefree look on her face, Kyubi hovering not far behind in his yo-kai form.

"Mom, I'm home," she called as she entered.

"And I as well!" Kyubi nodded, Fumi looked at him strangely.

"… You don't need to announce yourself."

"What can I say? I'm a gentleman," the nine-tailed fox spirit chuckled, the human Looper shook her head before stepping through the door, but when she reached her living room she spotted something that she was pretty sure didn't belong.

"Kyubi… What is that?"

"… I can't really say, is that some weird decoration your mom thought looked good…?"

" _Haniwa…"_

 **5.21**

"Hey?" Keita questioned Grif as he stood beside him, they were both on Chorus in the city of Armonia, Felix and Locus were already dealt with (Well, Felix was dealt with, they couldn't find Locus… though they didn't think he'd be a problem) and the teams were waiting for Charon's next move.

"Yeah?" Grif questioned, turning to his younger brother.

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

"… No Keita, just no."

"Hey guys!" Inaho greeted, running over to them. Keita blinked under his helmet, noting that unlike him, Inaho was still eleven, and had no armor.

"Inaho? Where did you come from…?"

"I Woke up a little bit ago! This place is cool! My mom for this Loop has been showing me around!"

"Your mom?" Keita asked, turning to Grif, whom shrugged.

"Hey guys!" The Awake Dr. Grey exclaimed, popping up behind them.

"GAH!?" They both jumped back before Dr. Grey chuckled, going over to the also laughing Inaho.

"Hi mom! I was just greeting my friend here!" Inaho smiled, Keita just seemed to blank out as he processed what was going on, Grif seemed less concerned after the surprise had gone away.

"Are you even old enough to have a kid?" Grif questioned in confusion.

"I guess I am this Loop!" Emily Grey cheered, patting a pleased Inaho on the head.

"Mom's going to show me all the surgical stuff!" Inaho explained eagerly.

"She's very excited to learn! I can't wait myself," Dr. Grey exclaimed before the two left. Keita finally snapped back to reality and tapped his brother on the shoulder.

"What?"

"Those two… should _not_ be together…"

"Oh, come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Grif shook his head, Keita shuddered.

"Why would you say THAT!?"

 **5.22**

When the Awake Chiyo, Tomo and Yomi entered Kimura's class, they were surprised when their usual teacher wasn't there, instead there was an orange haired man whom seemed to be in his twenties, with black eyes and a face that vaguely resembled a cat's…

"Hello class, unfortunately my brother has taken ill. But I, as a substitute teacher volunteered to fill in for him! My name is Akamaru Kimura, but to avoid confusion with my brother you may just refer to me as Mr. Akamura!" the new teacher explained cheerfully.

"Good morning Mr. Akamura!" the class greeted back, and the class went normally from there. When they got to the point where he was asking about their futures, Tomo decided to go with her usual question.

"Mr. Akamura, why did you become a teacher!?"

"Hmm… because I wish to shape young minds, help them reach their full potential and prepare them for the world of course. Truly there is no job more satisfying," The substitute said with a confident nod, the students seemed impressed and Tomo, Yomi and Chiyo exchanged a few relieved looks. Maybe they could find some way so that this guy could fill in for Kimura for the rest of the Loop. "Now then, on to our important lesson…"

Akamura pointed to the chalkboard, which the students now realized had several sketches of… cars and trucks?

"CARS!" he shouted, startling his class before he started ranting. "CARS ARE THE ENEMY! IF YOU WANT TO BE PREPARED FOR THE REAL WORLD YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO FACE THESE METAL MONSTERS! YOU MUST GAIN THE EYE OF THE TIGER AND FACE THEM! FACE THEM LIKE TRUE WARRIORS! SO YOU MAY NEVER BE RUN OVER LIKE A HELPLESS KITTEN! CARS! TRUCKS! YES, ALL MOTOR VEHICLES! I MUST PREPARE YOU FOR OUR FIGHT AGAINST OUR TRUE ENEMY!"

The class stared in silence for a moment, before they abruptly broke into a cheer, praising their teacher's passionate speech. Except for the three Loopers, whom just stared with dumbfounded expressions.

Of course, they never realized that their substitute teacher; Akamura 'Jibanyan' Kimura, was also a Looper…

 **5.23**

"And in more bizarre news, all the world's fishing poles have mysteriously vanished. The cause is being investigated but this abrupt disappearance of such a specific tool has left many people befuddled…" the newscaster went onto explain other things, but the occupants of the living room were more concerned with what they just heard.

"Every fishing pole in the world!?" Whisper questioned with a shocked look.

"Probably a Looper…" Jibanyan yawned as he relaxed on the couch seat next to the Anchor.

"But who would do such a thing? Why do something so… random as stealing all the world's fishing poles?" Whisper asked, now looking less shocked and more confused.

"I have a pretty good idea…" Nate muttered, Jibanyan and Whisper glanced at him, before they realized whom he was most likely referring to.

"Oh right, her…" Whisper sighed.

* * *

"So, you stole every fishing pole in the world?" Komajiro asked, standing by the lake, a proud looking Mermaidyn nodded as she floated in the water.

"Yup! Every single one is in a hole at the bottom of the ocean! Now Nate can't fish me out of the water, even by accident," she giggled a little before relaxing a little in the water. Komajiro blinked as he stared at her for a few seconds.

"… You do realize, that Nate probably has fishing poles in his sub-space pocket, right?" the lion-dog pointed out, Mermaidyn's eyes slowly widened.

"Oh…"

 **5.24**

Keita Awoke in his bed with a yawn, he looked around his room, noting not much was a different from his typical Baseline room, but a quick glance into his in-Loop memories did show one big difference from his Baseline life.

A smile formed on the Anchor's face; he had an older sister this Loop, and not just any older sister…

"Ruby's here!" Keita said excitedly as he pulled himself out of bed, Whisper was awoken by his master's quick movement from his position beside the bed, and yawned.

"Keita-kun? What's got you so riled up this morning? Wissu…" the ghostly butler questioned, tired look still present in his eyes, Keita noted that he was somewhat in the middle of Baseline, he already had the yo-kai watch and had befriended several yo-kai, including Jibanyan, and Hikikōmori was in his closet.

His sister was just as clueless about yo-kai as his parents were, according to his memories at least, but hopefully she would be Awake.

"Oh, nothing much Whisper, I'm just excited to spend some time with my sister."

"… Really? Didn't you say the other day that she bugs the heck out of you? Wissu…"

"Things are different today Whisper… it's hard to explain," Keita waved the yo-kai butler off, before going off to see Ruby.

* * *

"Hey sis, you Awake?" Keita asked, sending off a Ping as he entered his big sister's bedroom, he noted the moving shape underneath the rose red covers on the bed, before he received a Ping back.

"Yeah, feeling kind of Loopy though," Ruby smiled as she pulled the covers off her head. Keita smiled back at her as he approached.

"I'll be sure to keep you Anchored," The two chuckled, Ruby quickly got up from her bed and gave her brother a big hug that he returned.

"It's great to see you, baby bro," she ruffled his hair, he batted her hand away.

"No, Ruby you know I hate that," Keita gave his sister a fake glare, before letting out a couple of laughs that his sister mimicked, even if Keita really didn't appreciate being called 'baby' he certainly loved spending time with Ruby, Yang, or Grif.

He treasured any time he got with his siblings, fused Loops with them, unfortunately, didn't come around that often. Even less so ones where all of them were together.

"I'm sorry Keita, you're not a baby, you're a very capable young man," Ruby admitted after a moment, patting the younger Anchor on the shoulder with a look of pride on her face, Keita gained his own proud look at this, though it didn't last long… "But you're still adorable!"

"Hey!?" Keita exclaimed in surprise as his hyper sister grabbed hold of him and started spinning him around while giggling. After letting him go, he stumbled a bit before regaining his balance.

"So, anything new?" The seemingly-fifteen-year-old girl asked, taking a seat on the bed and looking her seemingly-eleven-year-old brother over.

"Oh, right! We got some Expansions! And a new Looper!"

"More than one Expansion? And a new Looper? Weren't the last ones that girl and… The rabbit spaceman."

"Inaho and USApyon–and he's actually an otter–But,yeah. Her name is Ningyo… Or, sometimes it's Mermaidyn, and she's well, a mermaid yo-kai," Keita went on to explain how their new Looper was doing, and what the new expansions were like, while Ruby smiled fondly and nodded.

Though she was happy to see her brother and hear about the new things that had happened since they had last spoken, her demeanor was, to an extent, a façade. She knew Keita would find out what happened eventually, and it would be better if he heard it from her now, than some second-hand source later, but she didn't want to think about that right now.

So here she sat, listening to the happy-and/or-silly exploits of the Yo-Kai Watch Loopers, just smiling and nodding along the way.

* * *

"So, anything new with you and Remnant?" Keita asked, having finished recounting his stories and wanted to hear if anything had happened at his sister's home branch, Ruby gave a barely noticeable twitch, but it still was enough for Keita to pause in concern.

"Um, let's not get into that right now, I want to enjoy spending some time with you… So, what do you think we could do?" Ruby offered, Keita briefly looked at her suspiciously, but decided to try and come up with some stuff.

Well, I'm thinking maybe we could go to the park? Just hang out, maybe get some food at Mogmog Burger?" he scratched his head as he tried to think of more activities. "We could go see the Space Wars movie? I've seen it like, more than a million times, but it's highly Loop-variable. Oh, if Inaho or USApyon Wake up we could join their detective agency! Or, we could just do that with their UnAwake selves, but Inaho gets mad if we do stuff with her UnAwake self in Loops she doesn't Wake up in…"

"That all sounds fun, Keita, whatever you want to do I'm for it," Ruby insisted in a highly cheerful tone, Keita looked at her suspiciously once more.

"Ruby, what's wrong?"

"What? There's nothing wrong, little bro… I'm just happy to spend some time with you," Ruby insisted, with a smile her brother could immediately tell was fake. "It's too bad Yang and Grif aren't here, but…"

"Ruby, really. I know something's wrong, I can see it in your eyes," Keita pointed out, firmly. Ruby stared at him, unsure of what to say. "You dodged the question pretty quickly when I asked about Remnant, did something happen?"

"…"

"… Sis, come on. We've known each other too long for this kind of thing, I know you're trying to protect me. But I want to help you, tell me what is wrong."

"… Cinder tried to Ascend."

"Okay, see that wasn't so–WHAT!?" the local Anchor did a doubletake, looking at his sister with hopes that he maybe misheard her, but the grave look on her face told him that was not the case. "Oh no…"

"It happened a few Loops ago, none of us saw it coming… W-we should've, she's not well Nate, oh this is bad," Ruby trembled as she hugged herself, her brother approached in carefully and wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Keita-kun, how long are you going to be– "

"GET OUT!" The watch-bearer snapped at the UnAwake yo-kai that just entered the room, the ghost quickly left, without a word. Keita felt a little guilty about how he had spoken to one of his oldest friends, even if he wasn't Awake, but he had other priorities right now. "Ruby, what happened?"

"We didn't realize at first, we just thought it was a bad variant. The grimm, and the attacks, but then… then… She put me to sleep, she tried to use my power to break our world while I had happy dreams. I-We stopped her, but… Oh Keita, things aren't okay! I need to look after her because she needs my help, but there's also all the problems it caused and we got new Loopers, and others are angry at Cinder, and-and– "

"Ruby, calm down, it's okay!" Keita hugged his sister tightly as she vented her emotions to him. His own emotions bubbled furiously below his somewhat calm exterior, everything Ruby was saying was hard to make sense of, he wasn't sure if he should be enraged at, worried for, or terrified of Cinder.

"The world was nearly broken, I felt it happening, I just, I just…" she hung onto him tightly as he continued his embrace.

"If that happened…" Keita shuddered, he knew what happened if a world was replaced from Yggdrasil, it would be much worse than losing his sisters… He wouldn't remember he ever had sisters… "R-Ruby!" the boy tightened his embrace, the feeling of her body against his assuring him of her continued existence.

"It's… it's okay, it's over now…" Ruby did her best to sound confident, but her tone betrayed her true feelings.

"I-I'm sorry, I should've been there to help you, I-I," Keita quivered as he held onto his sister, whom continued to hug him back.

"No, Keita! There was no way you could've! It wasn't a fused Loop, none of us saw this coming! You have nothing to be sorry about!"

"But, you almost… if she had succeeded…"

"No, don't think about that!" she pulled him back and looked him in the eye, Ruby noted that Keita's eyes were silver this Loop, an almost exact reflection of hers. "No matter how long it takes for me to see you again, I will never leave you alone! I will still be here!"

"I love you Ruby," Keita whimpered weakly.

"I love you too, Keita," Ruby answered softly, it was strange, she wasn't sure which of them was comforting the other at this point, perhaps they were both comforting each other? Either way, for the moment the siblings that existed across different realities held their embrace.

* * *

Keita checked the timer on the oven and nodded, Ruby was waiting back in her room, after their emotional exchange the local Anchor decided the best way to help his sister feel better would be to make her some of her favorite treats.

"Keita, are you baking?" his mother asked with a look of surprise on her face as she walked into the kitchen.

"They're cookies, for Ruby," Keita answered simply, checking the treats cooking in the oven, making sure they didn't burn.

"Oh, is something wrong with her? I noticed you two didn't come down for breakfast, I wanted to go and get you, but it seemed you two were talking and I didn't want to interrupt… So, did something happen to Ruby?" the woman muttered worriedly.

"No worries mom, she's fine. I just thought it'd be nice to do something for her, she is my big sister after all," Keita smiled fondly as he looked from the oven to his mother.

"Hmm… it's not like you to be so eager to do things for Ruby," Lily muttered with a pondering expression, but this quickly gave way to a happy one "But, it's so cute how much you love your big sister," she ruffled her son's hair a bit before turning to leave. "Just make sure neither of you spoil your dinners, okay?"

"Okay," he waved, once his mom was out of earshot he sighed. "Sorry mom… I hate lying to you, wish I could tell you what was going on, but this isn't something you can help with… Not now," he looked at the oven again and nodded, seemed the cookies were done.

* * *

"Here you go," Keita smiled as he presented the plate of baked goods to the other Anchor, she smiled back before taking one.

"Thanks Keita," she bit into the chocolate chip cookie, a look of bliss briefly formed on her face. "Mmm, did your baking get better? I mean, your cookies were good before, but these are incredible!"

"I've been practicing," Keita admitted, taking a bow, an amused look on his face.

"Well I can safely say that they are certainly, above average," Ruby chuckled as Keita gave her a deadpan expression.

"Really?"

"What?"

"Really?"

"Come on, laugh!"

"Leave the jokes to Yang, sis." Keita muttered, taking one of the cookies and eating it himself, while Ruby grabbed three more. "So… Cinder?" Ruby froze for a second, swallowing the bites cookies in her mouth.

"… Yes, she…"

"I don't know what to think about this Ruby, why did Cinder try to do this…" Keita asked, a serious look settling on his face, Ruby sighed as she stared at the cookies she held.

"It wasn't her fault… Well, not entirely. Cinder… Broke."

"Broke? I don't understand, what does that mean?"

"Slenderman did something to her, he put something in her pocket and… hacked her, or something. He did something that drove her mad," Ruby looked disheartened as she spoke.

"Slenderman, why? Just, how could this… Cinder?" Keita looked like he was contemplating something.

"You noticed before, didn't you?"

"Huh? Noticed what?" Keita questioned his sister.

"You noticed something was off about Cinder, you never looked at her the same way you did with the rest of us. You were always so weary of her, like you thought if you looked at her wrong she would kill you… I didn't say anything, I thought you just needed some more time to warm up to her…"

"… I have been intimidated by Cinder since the moment I met her," Keita admitted with a defeated sigh. "But… No, I never suspected anything was wrong with her. I just always had this weird feeling when I was near her, I didn't want to tell you, I thought it was wrong to feel that way about a family member…"

"She's been falling apart for a long time, I think that's what you were sensing…" Keita looked unsure of his sister's theory.

"I… Should talk to her, next chance I get. But are you okay?"

"Yes, I think. Things are just… Well, as I said before, they're crazy, bad things happened, so and so," she leaned back onto the bed.

"But the worst didn't happen, so at least there's that," Keita offered her another cookie, which she took gratefully.

"Yeah, let's just stop talking about this now, please?"

"Okay, there's plenty of fun stuff we can do to take our minds off this… event," Keita glanced towards the window and at the sunny sky.

"I'm sure there is, lead the way O brother of mine," Ruby pulled herself up, before taking the plate of remaining cookies from Keita. "But first, let's finish these delicious cookies you made!"

"Sounds good!" Keita nodded in agreement, before they both dug in.

* * *

The two Anchors were seated on a bench at the park, enjoying some burgers from Mogmog Burger, discussing the, more positive, recent happenings in their Loops.

"So, you got new Loopers?" Keita questioned Ruby, before taking about out of his cheese burger

"Yeah, my dad, Blake's mom, Sun, and Raven."

"Raven…" Keita looked slightly troubled at the mention of the last name.

"Don't worry, she's been behaving herself… Mostly," Ruby assured.

"That doesn't make me feel much better… Oh well, if Roman and Neo can behave themselves…" he shook his head at the thought. "Whatever, I trust you and the others to be able to handle it." He nodded to this self-assurance. "But your dad? Taiyang is finally Looping?"

"Yup, I'll be sure to introduce you first chance we get!"

"Cool, I've certainly been his son enough times to know what he's generally like, but it'll be nice to talk to him and have him actually remember," Keita smiled at that thought. "I don't know much about Blake's mom, but Sun Looping sounds like a good thing… So long as he's got the picture on what's going on with Blake and Yang."

"Oh, it was a bit hard to comprehend at first, but he got the idea and is being respectful."

"Good to hear, so you've got a good handle with the new Loopers?"

"Yeah, we have. A few things have been difficult, but I'm sure everything will work out okay, they just need to get adjusted to Looping," the Anchor of Remnant reasoned.

"Yeah, Ningyo's still having trouble adjusting to the Loops, it's a lot for her to take in," Keita nodded in understanding.

"So, you could say she's like a fish out of water?" Ruby questioned, a big grin on her face. Keita stared at her blankly.

"… No Ruby, just no."

"Oh, come on!"

"No, you are no longer allowed to make jokes," Keita said in a firm tone while crossing his arms.

"Jerk," Ruby huffed, though a good-natured smile made its way onto her face. The two soon finished their burgers and continued to sit for a while.

"So, anything else to report?" Keita asked after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm, well… Yang and Blake are getting married," Ruby said after a moment of thought, Keita blinked as he processed what his sister had just told him.

"Wait, WHAT!?" He exclaimed in shock. "When did this happen!? When will it happen!? Why didn't you tell me earlier!?"

"Wow! Calm down, bro!"

"Sorry… Sorry… But still… They're really going to do it?"

"Yup! Hope Yang doesn't get mad at me for telling you, she might've wanted to do it herself," Ruby shrugged.

"Well, tell them congratulations for me… Wow, my sister's getting married," Keita muttered to himself, looking unsure on how to feel about that.

"Hey guys!" a purple haired girl exclaimed, bursting out from behind the bench.

"Inaho!?" Keita jumped off the bench in surprise. Ruby looked confused.

"Inaho?" she questioned, in a more subdued manner than her brother.

"Yup!" Inaho smiled at Keita as she came around to the front of the bench, she looked at Ruby and nodded. "Chi-Watchi!" she struck a pose, showing her yo-kai watch. Ruby sweatdropped.

"Yes… You did that when we met…" Ruby muttered, a confused look on her face.

"Yup! Oh, it's great to see you again Ruby!" Inaho cheered in excitement.

"There goes our peaceful day," Keita groaned in aggravation, Inaho noticed his emotional state and went to his side, nearly instantaneously.

"Hey, Keita, no need to be down! We can make your day even more fun! Right USApyon!?" Keita stared at Inaho as a silence settled in the atmosphere. "… USApyon?"

"He doesn't appear to be here," Ruby pointed out, still looking somewhat confused.

"What the!? USApyon!? Where did you go!?" Inaho shouted in outrage, Keita sighed and shook his head.

"Inaho, when exactly did you and USApyon Wake up?" Inaho blinked at the question.

"Well this morning, duh. Then we had breakfast, then– "

"Not that kind of waking up! When did you Wake up, with a capital 'W'!" Keita snapped in annoyance.

"Oh! A couple hours ago, Why?"

"How come you didn't Ping?"

"… I wanted to surprise you!" she exclaimed, before looking around the park angrily. "And that namekichi was supposed to help! But where did he go!?"

"What's a namekichi?" Ruby asked her brother, he shrugged.

"I don't know, every time we ask she just shows that weird keychain of hers…"

"I'm not a namekichi! Dani!" USApyon exclaimed as he ran over to them.

"USApyon! There you are!" Inaho cheered at her yo-kai friend's appearance. "… Wait, where'd you go!?"

"You ran ahead of me and didn't bother looking if I was keeping up! What is wrong with you!? Dani!" USApyon growled at Inaho, whom looked at him blankly.

"… Huh? Sorry, didn't realize you were so slow."

"Slow!? Dani!"

"Why does he end every sentence with 'dani'?" Ruby asked Keita, curiously.

"Verbal tick, but we should back off," Keita whispered to his sister, grabbing her arm and backing away, USApyon was growling as Inaho grew a little nervous.

"USApyon?"

"Slow? Slow!? I'll show you slow! Dani!" USApyon hissed, before pressing the two buttons on the bottom of his helmet.

" **VADER MODE!"**

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Inaho cried as she dodged the slashes from USApyon's red lightsaber.

"Oh yeah, I remember that deal," Ruby said, crossing her arms as she watched. "… Is that okay?"

"Don't worry, he never actually tries to hit her," Keita assured Ruby.

"It sure doesn't feel that way to me!" Inaho shouted, narrowly dodging another slash from the enraged yo-kai's weapon.

"I seem to recall him using a laser gun before, I'm going to assume that lightsaber's not Baseline," Ruby concluded, Keita nodded. Inaho gave a few gasps as USApyon calmed down and put his lightsaber away.

"Don't call me slow, and don't run off without me when you want me to come with you! Dani!"

"He seems quick to anger," the elder Anchor said, eyeing USApyon with a bit of concern.

"Oh, he's always like that," Inaho waved off the concerns, "He's just taken to the lightsaber more, since he decided he was a Sith."

"A Sith?" Ruby questioned, eyeing USApyon again, this time with skepticism.

"Join the dark side, we have cookies! Dani."

"Thanks, but I'm set for cookies." Ruby muttered, looking away from the otter yo-kai.

"Worth a shot, dani," USApyon shrugged.

"Did anybody else spontaneously Wake up?" Keita questioned suspiciously, eight Pings were immediately received by the four present Loopers.

"Hmm, if I'm counting right, and nobody else is visiting, looks like that's everyone," Ruby smiled while she thought about what to do. "Perhaps we could have a little party?"

"Woo! Party!" Inaho cheered, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Okay, could be fun," Keita shrugged. "We'll have to gather everyone up, I'm sure Whisper, Jibanyan, Fumi, Hikikōmori and the Koma brothers will be happy to see you again. I could also introduce you to Ningyo!" he nodded to his sister, before another thought struck him. "Say… How do you feel about Kyubi?"

"Not much, why?" Ruby asked, looking a little clueless. "He's a nine-tailed fox, right?"

"Well yeah, but… Are you angry with him?"

"No, why would I be angry with him?"

"No reason… No reason," Keita assured. "We'll gather everyone up for a nice gathering… Just, don't get angry if Kyubi is a little… Intimidated by you."

"Um, okay?" Ruby looked confused, but shrugged it off. She was happy to get some time to spend with her brother and get her mind off of her current problems, for now she'd just enjoy this Loop, confident that when she got back home she'd be refreshed and with a clear mind.


	7. Chapter 6

**6.1 KaiserRichard**

"So, it's usually around this point when Keita falls down a hole and becomes Fuu2..." Fumi-chan asked Whisper, "What happens to me when I turn into Mifuu?"

"Well..."

*SQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!*

Suddenly a Giant Noko falls down on the current watch bearer, crushing her.

"Huh, usually it's a cow that crushes you, whis." The Ghost Butler finished.

 **6.2**

Cinder Awoke to find herself in a house, kneeling before a shrine of some sort, with… her brother beside her.

"… Keita?" she muttered, glancing at the eleven-year-old whom was sitting on his knees with his eyes closed.

"Nate," he corrected, without opening his eyes. "It's Nate right now."

"Oh…" Cinder nodded, looking through her Loop-memories to confirm this. She also found that they were currently visiting their grandmother, and the shrine was… in memorial to their grandfather. The Remnant Looper grew a little nervous when Nate made no motion to talk to her, nor any signs of hostility or discomfort at all… "Um… Nate?"

"Shhh," he softly shushed her before nodding. "We make an offering to grandpa first, then we talk." He explained, Cinder just looked confused before Nate held up a plate with some kind of pastry on it, and placed it in front of the shrine. There was silence for a few moments before Nate turned to his nervous sister. "So, what's on your mind?"

"… What's on my mind?" Cinder looked incredulous at the casualness of this question.

"It's been a while since we've just talked, Cinder. I'm supposed to be your brother after all, I figured asking what's on your mind is a good place to start," the Anchor explained with a friendly smile, Cinder fidgeted a little, a clear look of discomfort on her face.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't understand," Nate tilted his head at his elder sibling's question.

"Why are you talking to me like this? Aren't you angry with me?"

"… I was," he admitted, glancing at the ground. "But… Ruby explained everything to me, it wasn't your fault. I hate the idea of what could have happened, but taking it out on you won't help anything… also…" Nate drummed his fingers against his pantleg, looking unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry…"

"… What?"

"I'm sorry for not talking to you, I'm sorry for being afraid of you… I'm sorry for being a bad brother," Nate sighed as he avoided Cinder's gaze, silence permeated the room for a few moments… before it was broken by a small chuckle, from Cinder. Nate looked surprised as his sister let out a few more laughs, a couple tears coming from her eyes.

"What is this?" Cinder asked in-between laughs, Nate blinked in confusion before she continued. "I almost destroyed my home, your other sisters, friends and who knows what else… and you're apologizing to me? What is this? Some kind of joke?"

"I mean it, Cinder," Nate insisted, a serious look on his face. "I know what happened, I don't blame you. I shouldn't have been afraid of you in the first place, you're my family but I never acted like you were. I bonded with Ruby, Yang and Dexter every chance I got, but I never even put an effort forth to bond with you…"

"Nate…" Cinder just looked down in confusion, unsure of how to feel about her surrogate brother's words.

"I want to start over with this Cinder, I'm not going to be afraid of you anymore," the yo-kai watch-bearer stood up and held his hand out to Cinder, a determined look on his face. "I'm going to treat you like family from now on, please give me another chance to be your little brother, big sis…" Cinder looked at his hand for a moment, before giving a soft smile and taking it.

"I suppose I should, you're giving me another chance after all, little bro," she stood up and the two hugged, they stayed like that for a moment, before the sound of movement caught their attention. The hug broke and Nate stared at the shrine for a moment, Cinder noted that the pastry that had been on the plate was gone…

"… Grandpa, how long have you been watching?" Cinder grew confused at her brother's words, their grandfather? The sudden appearance of a small, shadowy humanoid surprised her, but also answered her question.

"I was here the whole time, it didn't seem right to interrupt," the spirit said with a nod of his head.

"Yet it was okay to spy on us?"

"What? An old man can't keep an eye on his grandkids?" he shook his head with a chuckle, before nodding to Cinder, whom bowed a little awkwardly. "Well, have fun on the time travel quest," he shrugged.

"Time travel?" Cinder looked at Nate questioningly, he just smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"Also, Nate," the yo-kai looked towards his grandson. "If I ever Loop, you're going to have to introduce me to all my new grandchildren," Nate and Cinder both looked confused at this request.

"Wait, how do you know about the Loops?" the Anchor asked, the grandfather cracked a smile.

"Because you told me in the past, of course."

"Of course," Nate rolled his eyes, Cinder couldn't help but laugh a little.

 **Next Loop**

Keita Woke up, in both senses of the word, in his bed. The Anchor had a content smile as he remembered the fun time he had with his eldest sister last Loop, and that he wasn't going to be afraid of her anymore…

The sounds of small rocks hitting his window snapped the child out of his sentimental thoughts, he glanced at the window before going over to it and opening it.

"Hello?" he looked around, not seeing anyone he focused on the ground until a small, shadowy yo-kai became visible. "… Grandpa?"

"Yeah," his undead relative nodded. "Remember when I said if I Looped I wanted you to introduce me to all my grandchildren?" a smirk formed on the Isamashi-zoku yo-kai's face as Keita's eyes widened, before a smile formed on his own face.

"Grandpa, I think we have a lot to discuss…"

 **6.3**

"Morning, pop," Taiyang's Awakening was met with this greeting, not from one of his daughters, but from a young boy.

"Morning… son," the man muttered as he let his Loop memories sink in, he still had two children this Loop. Nate was the younger, and the older was…

"Nate!" a seventeen-year-old Ruby cheered as she dashed into the room and swept her brother up into a hug. "So great to see you!"

"Great to see you too sis… but please put me down," the currently-fifteen-year old boy struggled in his sister's grip, before she reluctantly let him go and he let out a gasp for breath.

"Oh, don't be a baby," she chided with a shake of her head, Nate gave her a weak glare.

"I _said_ to stop with the baby thing…"

"Okay, one: me calling you a baby in this context has nothing to do with calling you my baby bro. And two: NEVER!" Nate took a swipe at the local Anchor, which she easily dodged. These antics continued for a few moments before they noticed Taiyang standing in the corner, looking completely lost.

"… Oh, right. Everyone's feeling Loopy, right?" Nate asked after a moment, Ruby nodded with a huff–as if there was any doubt she was Awake after that display–and Taiyang nodded as well, still looking a little confused.

"I will say that, if I wasn't Awake you two certainly would've been making even less sense to me, and I'm still a bit confused…" despite his confusion, he looked towards the brown-haired boy and allowed himself to smile a little. "So, we finally meet, Nate. Or do you prefer Keita?"

"I have no preference, but right now it's Nate," the visiting Anchor explained, giving a bow to his current in-Loop father. "It's nice to meet you, Taiyang. Ruby and Yang have told me much about you, and I myself have been the son of your UnAwake selves several times…"

"Well, I'm happy to finally meet my new son face to face," Taiyang nodded, keeping his friendly smile. Nate blushed a little in embarrassment as he stood awkwardly before the man, he took a breath before nodding to him.

"Sir, I would like you to know that you have always been a wonderful father whenever I Looped as your son… but I'm sorry if I can't consider myself to be your son," Taiyang and Ruby exchanged a confused expression at this declaration, before Nate continued. "Despite that fact they are not Looping, and may in fact never Loop, I am deeply attached to my Baseline parents. I already have a dad, and I know it's possible to have more than two parents but… without them Looping to tell about this, I'd feel like I'm replacing them. I know that's not rational but I just can't see you as my dad or I as your son…"

"Well… I suppose that's understandable," Taiyang muttered while scratching his head, looking unsure of what to say again. Ruby glanced between the two in awkward silence, trying to think of something to lift the mood back up…

"However," Nate started, holding his hand up to catch the two's attention. "I can consider you a father-figure. You may not be my dad, but we are family. And I would not be opposed to us spending some time together as such, so long as you respect that I have another dad…" the two smiled at each other after a moment.

"I don't really think a speech like that was necessary to get your feelings across," Taiyang chuckled, ruffling Nate's hair a bit. He pushed the hand back, but smiled regardless.

"Just wanted my thoughts known. You really were a good dad to me, I would like to have that kind of relationship with your Looping self, you can't be my dad… maybe my step-dad?"

"I think that should work just fine," Taiyang and Nate nodded to each other, Ruby gave a sigh of relief that the awkwardness seemed to be gone. The father soon left to make breakfast, leaving his two (current) children to their own devices.

"… Whisper write that speech for you?" Ruby questioned, a bit of a smug look on her face.

"No!" Nate huffed with crossed arms, before sighing and dropping his head a little. "Katie did… How did you know?"

"Nate, the way you spoke reeked of a pre-written speech. And you may be a hacker and as into weapon modification as myself, but you are certainly not the greatest with words."

"… Yeah, I suppose. I just wasn't sure how to approach the issue without hurting his feelings…" Nate sighed as he looked towards the kitchen. Ruby laughed a little and put her hand on his head, he glared at her and pushed it away and, but she kept her amused smile, but it soon softened in a concerned look.

"That's not all there is to it, is there? What you said, there's another reason you're so insistent he's not your dad…"

"…"

"Nate, no matter how long it takes them to Loop, even if they never Loop, you won't forget them. You don't have to worry about that."

"… But what's worse? Forgetting them, or replacing them?"

"Family isn't something that there's a limit on, we'll always have room for more. There is no replacing," Ruby assured, Nate didn't look to sure but the conversation was halted when Taiyang called the two for breakfast.

"Well, we should– "before Nate could finish his sentence, his sister flicked his forehead. "Ow! Hey, what was that for!?"

"Stop being depressing!" she flicked his forehead again.

"Stop that!"

"I've had more drama than I'd care to deal with lately! You don't need to get all depressed on if my dad can be your dad without replacing your actual dad!"

"… Wha– "she flicked his forehead again. "Okay, seriously! Stop that!"

"You see your parents every Baseline run! There is zero chance you will forget them! Enough drama, get over it!" Ruby moved to flick him again, but Nate caught her hand.

"Ha!" she used her other hand to flick him. "Ow! Seriously!?"

"Get over it! I didn't even know what my dad looked like when I started Looping, get over it! Get over it! Get over it!" she kept flicking the visiting Anchor, faster than he could react.

"Okay! I'm over it! Please stop!"

 **6.4**

"Whitley's gone _again_!?" Weiss exclaimed, while her present teammates looked at her suspiciously. "I DIDN'T KIDNAP HIM!"

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Ruby exclaimed, running over frantically.

"I don't know where Whitley is!" Weiss suddenly shouted at her leader, whom she noticed was seventeen this Loop…

"What?" Ruby blinked, Yang shook her head at her–currently twin–sister while Blake rolled her eyes.

"Never mind, what is it?" Weiss sighed while rubbing her head.

"Oh, well Keita Looped in as my biological little brother again, but he's gone missing!" Ruby exclaimed worriedly. "I think he Woke up not too long ago, but I don't know where he is! Neither does dad."

"Wait, Keita vanished?" Yang questioned, not looking as concerned as her sister, knowing he could take care of himself, but looking more suspicious.

"… Oh, you have got to be kidding," Weiss groaned.

"… What?" Ruby asked, looking clueless to what was being implied…

* * *

"So, mind explaining yourself _nephew_?" Qrow questioned as he looked down at the fifteen-year-old Keita Rose, whom was sitting on a log, innocently playing a tune on a harp that the nearby Whitley Schnee briefly hummed to.

"Whatever do you mean?" Keita asked with a smirk.

"Keita, do you know this man?" Whitley asked after a moment, an eyebrow arched in confusion.

"Yeah, he's my uncle. Don't worry about it," the Yo-kai Watch Anchor waved off the concerns before looking back at Qrow.

"What do I mean? Keita, kidnapping doesn't really suit you."

"I didn't kidnap anyone," Keita stated plainly.

"Why does he think you kidnapped me?" Whitley questioned.

"Probably because your dad went on a rampage when you weren't home for supper," Keita huffed. Whitley chuckled before the two high-fived, Qrow's eye twitched. "Could you excuse us buddy, my uncle and I need to talk."

"Oh, sure thing," Whitley shrugged before walking off to the other side of their campsite and out of earshot.

"… Okay, seriously, what's going on?" Qrow held himself back from snapping as Keita tapped his harp a few times before putting it away.

"Not much, actually. Turns out my unawake-self had been Whitley's pen pal for quite a while before I Woke up. From there it was simple for me to convince him without a doubt that his father was a jackass, and that he needed some experience in the outside world. So, we went camping."

"… Without telling anyone!?"

"Did we not tell anyone? I could've sworn we left notes," Keita smirked innocently while Qrow just groaned.

"I swear, you are a devious little poltergeist."

 **6.5**

"Nate, why did your grandfather sue Steve Jaws?" Whisper questioned, yo-kai pad in hand as he hovered over to his master/friend.

"He stole his invention and marketed it as his own, what did you expect him to do?" Nate pointed out plainly. Whisper blinked, before looking at the yo-kai pad again.

"… It says he's going to mass-produce the model zero and market it to humans around the world, effectively revealing the existence of yo-kai to everyone…" Whisper pointed out, showing an image of Nathaniel's yo-kai form holding up a yo-kai watch. The human and ghost stared at each other for a few more seconds.

"Well… I know what I'm getting mom and dad for Christmas."

"You could've given anyone a yo-kai watch at any time…"

"Yeah, but I never get this good an excuse."

 **6.6**

"So, this is 2500 yen?" Keita questioned the book shop's cashier as he looked over a copy of 'A Serious Life.' "Are you sure that's the best price you can give me?"

"Sorry sir, but that's how much it costs, I doubt you'll find a better price anywhere around here," the shopkeeper shrugged. Keita hummed in thought.

"Well, I don't know… I have an idea!" he smiled before pulling a yo-kai medal out of his pocket, the shopkeeper looked confused, and only grew more confused at the child's next action. "Come on out my friend!" he flipped the medal, which had an image of a tanuki on it. "Calling Tom Nook! Yo-kai medal do your thing!"

" **Summoning Shady!** " the yo-kai watch stated after Keita inserted the medal " **Marvelous thee! Gusty, free banshee! Sing, song Shady** "

"Tom Nook! Yes, yes!" the tanuki exclaimed after he appeared, before landing in front of Keita and looking between him and the very confused cashier. "Yes Keita, what can I do for you?"

"This guy says 2500 is the best price I can get on this book in the area, can you confirm the factuality of that statement?" Keita questioned, holding the book out to Tom Nook.

"Who are you talking to?" the confused man behind the counter questioned, but received no answer. Tom Nook looked over the book for a moment, before nodding.

"Oh! Yes, yes! I actually have this book available in my shop for a mere two bells! Yes, yes!"

"Oh, well that's fantastic, lead the way," Keita smiled, before placing the book back on the shelf and following the tanuki out the door.

The shopkeeper was left very confused…

 **6.7**

"You must be even more foolish than I believed, if you think some _average_ human can stop me!" Dame Dedtime laughed as she loomed over the small group with an army of wicked yo-kai.

His friends (and grandfather) were all UnAwake, but Nate stepped forward with a glare.

"Nate, what are you doing?" Whisper asked fearfully as he approached the boss of the wicked yo-kai.

"Don't call me that!"

"Huh?" Dame Dedtime stopped her laughing and looked down at the human glaring at her. "What did you just say?"

"I said, don't call me 'average'! My name is Nate!"

"… Is he serious?" the wicked yo-kai asked her subordinates, whom all shrugged or looked confused, before she started laughing. "Oh, you stupid boy, you don't seem to understand in what position you're in! You have no yo-kai watch, no way to defeat me, you are at my mercy! You are just an average– "Dame Dedtime's words were cut off when a star-shaped laser suddenly slammed into her and sent her flying. "WHAT THE!?"

The wicked yo-kai, as well as Nate's companions are blinked in confusion and shock, looking over at the angry boy with the glowing star on his chest…

"I said; I do not call me 'average'! My name is Nathen Adams! and YOU WILL FEAR MY LASER-CHEST!"

 **6.8 Black Omochao & Masterweaver**

"Oh boy! I've been waiting for this for so long!" Inaho cheered as she ran around the halls of Beacon, Ruby following behind her.

"Inaho, you know I don't mind you being here, but are you _sure_ my brother isn't in this Loop?" Ruby questioned, watching the hyper girl run around with a sweatdrop.

"Nah, Mr. Average-Anchor isn't around, or at least not Awake," Inaho waved off Ruby's question, the Anchor of Remnant glared at the foreign Looper for a moment.

"Okay, but what have you been waiting for anyway?" Ruby questioned after a moment.

"Oh, well. USApyon's finally going to meet Weiss! I cannot wait to see an epic battle between a Jedi and Sith!" Inaho exclaimed excitedly, skipping ahead, towards team RWBY's room. "I made sure USApyon was headed to your room, and when he and Weiss meet I'm sure their hearts of both the light and dark sides will resonate! And then there will be a glorious lightsaber battle! Oh! I don't want to miss a second of it!" she started running faster.

"Hold up!" Ruby sighed as she chased after the younger Looper. "I kind of want to see that too!"

Inaho stopped at the door and looked into the room, her look of excitement faded, leaving just a blank stare. Ruby speeded over to her side within a second, leaving a few rose petals behind.

"Should've just done that in the first place," Ruby chuckled, smoothing out her cloak a bit, before looking into the room.

The room where Weiss and USApyon were sitting on the ground, both sipping tea.

"… Huh?" both girls blinked in confusion at the sight.

"Oh, hey Ruby… and…" Weiss looked at Inaho with a raised brow.

"Inaho, dani," USApyon stated calmly.

"Inaho, thanks," the white-haired girl nodded to the yo-kai before looking back at the two new arrivals. "What's going on?"

"... Wait, you're not having a battle!? What _is_ going on!?" Inaho shouted while clutching her head.

"Do you have to shout? Dani," USApyon sighed and shook his head.

"Um, Weiss, you know he's a Sith, right?" Ruby asked her friend, blankly.

"Of course I know, I could feel it from a mile away, what's your point?"

"Well… Jedi, Sith… Why aren't you two…?"

"WHY IS THERE NO EPIC LIGHTSABER DUAL!?" Inaho shouted, causing Ruby to jump in surprise.

"We have no reason to fight each other," Weiss stated plainly, shrugging her shoulders.

"With how the Loops are especially, the force isn't even known in this world. There's no conflict between us, dani," USApyon nodded. "Besides, if we did fight she'd probably cream me. Do you have any idea how much longer than me she's been Looping? Dani."

"I'm sure you'd do fine," Weiss assured, patting the otter-ghost on the head.

"Thanks, but I highly doubt it, dani," USApyon shook his head.

"… Are you serious!? I got all excited for nothing!?" Inaho shouted in outrage. "Leave it to the namekichi to disappoint at every turn!" USApyon twitched a little at Inaho's words.

"… What did you just call me? Dani," the shady yo-kai stood up, carefully placing his now empty tea cup on the ground, before turning to Inaho, and pressing the two buttons on his helmet…

" **VADER MODE!"**

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Inaho cried as USApyon chased her through the halls, lightsaber in hand and trying to force-choke her. Ruby blinked in confusion as Weiss took another sip of tea.

"That wasn't the kind of dual I was expecting," Ruby shrugged, pointing in the direction the two visiting Loopers had run off in.

"You do realize Cinder's a sith, right?"

"I mean... yeah, but... that's complicated. You and USApyon are sort of strangers, so-"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "My loyalty as a jedi is not to law or to light. I seek to ensure balance, prosperity, and the continued growth of things. USApyon is not at the moment a risk to any of that."

"I... see." Ruby glanced over to the chase. "So, what... you'll attack him if he starts performing atrocities?"

"Essentially yes."

"Okay then." She sat down across from her partner. "So, what about all the spirits?"

"Ugh, that nonsense... I'll certainly be busy this loop..."

 **6.9**

"So… We've nyever really spoken, much…"

"… Rudy, virtually the only thing we have in common is being cat-like," Blake commented dully, looking up from her book and at the red feline that stood nearby.

"Oh, come on, I didn't come talk to you just because we're both feline in nature," Jibanyan scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Okay, why did you come talk to me?"

"Um…" Jibanyan blinked, unable to come up with an answer. Blake sighed and shook her head.

"Don't you usually hang out with Zwei when you're here?"

"I have more to do when I'm here than hang out with that dog!" Jibanyan shouted out in an offended tone. The two stared at each other for a few moments, before Jibanyan's posture drooped a little and he sighed. "Guess I'll go see what Zwei's doing…" Blake watched the nekomata slowly leave the room, before returning to her book.

* * *

"You're the only one who understands me, bro," Jibanyan sighed, Zwei barked happily. The two climbed onto a pair of motorcycles and lowered sunglasses over their eyes.

They started the engines before zooming forward on the road, those they passed occasionally caught glimpses of their leather jackets, with the words 'Mutt Life' on the back. Though most were too stunned by the image of a cat and dog riding around in motorcycles, dressed like bikers, to notice…

* * *

"So, what do you want to do today?" Mercury muttered in a bored tone as he walked on the sidewalk with Emerald beside him.

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?" Emerald replied, in just as bored a tone.

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?" This continued back and forth between them for a few minutes, before two little furry mammals on motorcycles zoomed by, startling them.

Emerald and Mercury both stared blankly as the cat's motorcycle slowly backed up and passed them again, before zooming by again, making sure to splash them with a puddle it had missed the first time.

The two dripping villains continued to stare blankly ahead, before Mercury glared at his partner accusingly.

"… I swear I didn't do anything!" Emerald exclaimed defensively.

 **6.10**

Inaho let out a sad sigh as she sat down at a bench, USApyon sitting beside her with a bored look.

"What's with her?" Keita questioned, walking over. Kanchi and Kuma nearby with confused looks, along with Fumi whom was just shrugging.

"Oh, Inaho's just bummed she hasn't had a Loop into Sailor Moon yet, dani," USApyon answered with a shrug. Keita rose an eyebrow at that, looking at Inaho as she drooped a little more.

"Really? I'd think that'd be one of the first places you'd Loop into."

"Actually, I'd really like to Loop into Sailor Piers! But anything like that would do, but it's not happening," the purple haired girl got to her feet and grabbed hold of the Anchor's shoulders. "It's the tree, Nate!"

"Keita," the boy corrected, blankly.

"Whatever! I'm telling you, that tree has something against me! So many Loops, but not once have I become a magical girl! I WANT TO BE A MAGICAL GIRL!" Inaho shook Keita faster, he flinched slightly at her loud tone, noticing that Kuma and Kanchi were looking even more confused now. "It's not fair, Fumi gets to be one but I don't!"

"… Fumi-chan, do you know that girl?" Kuma asked after a moment of watching her shake Keita.

"We're… acquainted, Keita-kun knows her better," Fumi sighed. "Also, I'm not magical. I'm psychic," the female Looper huffed, her non-Looping friends just giving her dumbfounded looks.

 **6.11**

"Look at us, bro! We're real working men!" a short man with blue overalls, a white shirt, and a hat with an 'S' on it, exclaimed happily.

"I think we're supposed to save a princess, or something…" a similar looking man, with tan overalls and a brown shirt, along with a 'J' on his hat, stated with an unsure expression.

"Oh my swirls! Coins!" the blue garbed brother exclaimed in excitement, running off to collect the floating tokens.

"Um… Komasan?" the tan garbed brother looked concerned, watching his sibling run around with a blissfully happy expression.

"Oh my swirls! Flashing question-mark blocks!" Komasan laughed as he tapped the top of the floating block with his gloved hand.

"I think you're supposed to hit it from the bottom…" Komajiro muttered with a sweatdrop, Komasan just continued patting the top of the block. "I think we're supposed to be doing something important…"

* * *

"Mahahaha! Those Koma brothers will never make it here, and even if they do, I will stomp them, and breath fire upon their shattered bodies! Victory is mine!" Bowser laughed evilly, Peach sat nearby with an unimpressed look.

"Okay, Bowser you don't even sound convincing anymore…"

"What? Aren't I allowed to have a little fun with this!?" the koopa king snapped in an annoyed tone. "The Mario brothers haven't been replaced for a while, I want to enjoy going up against someone whom doesn't know my tactics, and whom I in-turn don't know the tactics of!"

"Whatever, just don't do anything insane," the princess sighed.

"No promises!" Bowser smirked at his fellow Looper's annoyed frown, before he turned towards the directions the brothers would come to face him. "Now we wait!"

 **Twelve hours later…**

"… Where the heck are they!?" Bowser exclaimed in aggravation. "Not even an amateur would take this long to get to my castle! Right!? What could be keeping them!?"

* * *

"Oh my swirls! A turtle!" the koopa troopa looked annoyed as Komasan patted it on the shell, a cheerful look on his face. "Hiya, Mr. Turtle!"

"I really think we're supposed to be doing something important," Komajiro sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time, only for his brother to run off after something else, again…

"Oh my swirls! A teeth-flower!" Komasan exclaimed as he gazed in amazement at the piranha plant.

"This is getting ridiculous…" Komajiro muttered with a defeated expression.

"Tell me about it, he hasn't even acknowledged me…" an annoyed goomba stated from beside him.

"Oh my swirls! A walking mushroom!"

"Spoke too soon," Komajiro shook his head.

 **6.12**

"Lucy…" Moximous N sighed as he overlooked the home he had lived in since childhood, from the branch of a tall tree, his wife sitting on the deck outside. His non-Looping wife…

"Hey, Nathaniel!" a female voice called from the base of the tree, the dark colored yo-kai looked down and spotted the Looping Slippery tribe yo-kai, looking up at him, a Ping alerted him that she was also Awake.

"Mermaidyn? What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, you're just sitting in a tree with a depressed look on your face. What's going on?" Mermaidyn questioned, looking concerned for her friend.

"... Lucy's not Looping," the creator of the yo-kai watch answered after a moment, Mermaidyn sent him a confused look.

"Yeah, I know. What does that have to do with…" a look of realization crossed her face as she thought about what was just said. "Oh… I suppose that might be difficult for you…"

"Even in death, I could continue to spend time with the woman I love. But as I am now, in the Loops. I feel like I'm living in a dream with her, speaking to her is like talking to a memory at times," he sighed in a melancholy manner, his form sagging a little. "It's not too big a deal. I still love her, I still get to spend time with her. It's just difficult when she can't remember anything new we've done…"

"Yeah… that's hard," Mermaidyn nodded, looking to the ground. "I'm here for you if you need me, you know?"

"I know, you're a good friend," Moximous N smiled down at the mermaid-like yo-kai.

"Yeah… and of course, you've also got that irritating grandson of yours to talk to," she chuckled a little, Nathaniel smirked.

"Yeah, wonder what Nate's doing right now."

"Actually, that's part of the reason I'm here," Mermaidyn stated, a sheepish grin on her face. The Brave yo-kai looked at her curiously. "He wants to try and see if me being in a different town would make it so his fishing pole wouldn't catch me. I agreed since I'd like to find out the limits of that annoying thing myself…"

"Oh…" Moximous N nodded, glancing towards his house again. "So, do you think it'll work– "he looked back down, only to find that Mermaidyn was gone. "… Guess not."

* * *

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Nate exclaimed, an annoyed Mermaidyn dangling from his fishing rod.

"Maybe you should just give up on fishing…" Whisper muttered with a sweatdrop.

 **6.13**

Keita approached the Crank-a-Kai, grabbing the nob and twisting it, causing a capsule to drop out.

Usually the one in the capsule was Whisper, sometimes it was a different yo-kai, but he could honestly say that he didn't expect what came out of it this time.

"Zwei!?" the Anchor questioned, staring at his sisters' dog, floating like a ghost.

"Oh, hiya Nate!"

"It's Keita right now, what were you doing in the Crank-a-Kai!?"

"… That is a good question…" the two stared at each other, a sweatdrop forming on Keita's head.

* * *

Nate opened the capsule carefully, releasing a burst of smoke.

"I am the Box Ghost!" the humanoid spirit that was released from the capsule announced. "BEWARE!" Nate stared at him with an unimpressed expression.

"… I know Whisper replaced you before, but this is kind of stupid," the human boy huffed, the ghost looking at him in confusion.

"… Um, didn't you hear me? I said; BEWARE!"

* * *

Keita opened and watched as the two small, humanoid figures formed.

"I'm Cosmo!" the green haired one announced.

"And I'm Wanda!" The pink haired one followed.

"And we're, your Fairy God Parents!" the two shouted together in a cheerful manner, waving their wands and making giant words saying; 'Fairy God Parents' with stage lights and confetti. Keita blinked.

"… What? Not a fan?" Wanda questioned.

"I'm just a little confused," Keita admitted blankly. "Why were you in the Crank-a-Kai?"

"We have no idea!" Cosmo exclaimed happily, Wanda sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Is it too much to ask to just get Whisper?" Keita muttered while shaking his head, the two fairies shared a confused glance.

* * *

"CABOOSE!?"

"Hi Keita-Nate!" Nate stared at the blue armored soldier blankly, he didn't seem to be a spirit in any way, shape or form, yet somehow, he had fit inside the capsule. "… So, what's new? Still in school?"

* * *

Keita pulled open the capsule, in a burst of smoke he was face-to-face with a tyrannosaurus-ghost!

"Well, it was cramped in there…" Roxy stated, cracking her neck, despite her current lack of a physical body.

"Roxy?"

"Oh, Keita. How have you been?"

"Fine… why were you in there?" Keita asked curiously, Roxy hummed in thought, going over her Loop-memories.

"… Apparently, a hundred or so years back, there was a monk whom couldn't tell the difference between a dinosaur ghost, and a demon."

"… Oh."

* * *

When Nate opened the capsule, instead of smoke, a swarm of one-eyed bats surged forth. Forming together into the form of a dark haired, teenage girl.

"FREEDOM!" Kira shouted cheerfully, extending two bat wings and a tail, before flying into the sky. "Thanks for the help kid! But now I'm off to have fun! WEE!" Nate just watched in confusion.

"Okay, that was something…"

* * *

Keita opened the capsule he had obtained from the Crank-a-Kai, smoke burst forth as usual, but his eyes widened as he got sight of the muscular figure that formed.

"You were expecting a yo-kai, but it was actually ME, DIO!" Keita stared blankly at the (pending)MLE, before turning and stiffly walking away.

"Nope."

 **6.14 Boohoooo!**

Manjimutt sighed miserably as he was once again dragged off to prison for making a... questionable... piece of pottery. Manjimutt briefly wondered why he kept doing this the three times time had restarted but he stopped caring.

Suddenly, the police car stopped, much to Manjimutt's confusion. No way they had gotten to the prison that quickly...

"Come on buddy. You're free to go." One of the officers grunted. Manjimutt blinked and got out as the police car drove off.

"Hey Manjimutt." Nate smiled.

"Hello Nate. We've gotta stop meeting like this!" Manjimutt joked. Nate had been a lot more attentive towards his situations lately. He briefly wondered if he should ask about the time travel.

"Really, Nyate, I don't knyow why we keep on rescuing him..." Jibanyan sighed.

"Don't be rude, Jibanyan. It's the least I can do considering what I've done to him before the Loops." Nate whispered.

Manjimutt, having good hearing, piped up "As in... time loops?"

Nate sweatdropped and asked, "How'd you know?"

"Well, It DOES Seem that time is repeating... But maybe I've just finally gone crazy..." Manjimutt mused.

"No, you're not crazy. Y'see..." Nate began.

One Welcome to the Multiverse Speech later...

"Doggone!" Manjimutt exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy." Nate nodded.

"Soooooo... I guess I owe you a thanks for everything you did for me before I began looping..." Manjimutt awkwardly commented.

"Really, it's the least I could do." Nate shrugged.

"The loops have really changed you, Nate." Manjimutt smiled as he, Nate and Jibanyan walked into the sunset.

 **6.15**

Nate stared at the black and red colored yo-kai watch in his hands, it stared back with its two eyes…

"Unhand me, human!" the black yo-kai watch shouted, shaking back and forth in the Anchor's hands. Nate rolled his eyes as he kept hold of it.

"Well you're certainly strange, can't say I understand how your creation would have come about; a yo-kai watch that is also a yo-kai…"

"If you don't let me go, I'll make you into a yo-kai!"

"I'd probably beat you to it," at this statement, the black yo-kai watch stared at Nate blankly. "Anyway, you're a model of yo-kai watch I don't think I'm in need of a stock of, so I'll send you on your way," Nate explained, before placing the black yo-kai watch on the ground and walking away. The possessed watch looked confused, which quickly turned to anger.

"Hey! Don't you leave! Get back here and explain yourself! What the heck's going on!?" Nate ignored the watch's calls as he kept walking.

 **6.16**

"Still no Magical Girl Loop, all I want is to be like Sailor Piers, but the tree won't even give me that," Inaho grumbled as she walked home from school.

"Magical Girl?" she heard a young sounding voice question, she looked to the bushes by the sidewalk and spotted a white, cat-like creature looking up at her. "I can make you a Magical Girl." Inaho blinked, before her pupils turned to stars and she looked at the creature with excitement.

"You can!?"

"Yes, just make a wish, any wish, I'll grant it. In exchange, you'll become a Magical Girl and help fight Witches," the Incubator explained, in its unchanging tone.

"That's not a price, that's a dream!" Inaho exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "But what do I wish for? I want to be a Magical Girl, but that would be a waste. No, no… what do I want?"

"BEGONE!" a black-haired girl shouted, rushing over and blasting the alien creature with gunfire, causing it to immediately explode.

"Hey!? Why did you do that!? I was about to realize my dream!" Inaho whined loudly, waving her arms around angrily. Homura groaned and shook her head.

"You'll thank me for this later," the older Looper stated plainly, before rushing off. Inaho blinked as she stared in the direction Homura had gone.

"… Well I don't feel very grateful right now!" The purple-haired girl shouted out of anger.

 **6.17**

"So, this is it," Jibanyan narrowed his eyes at his opponent.

"Yes, the final confrontation to the ultimate rivalry. We both knew it would eventually come down to this," Pikachu narrowed his eyes back at the yo-kai, whom stood his ground with a firm expression.

"Do you really think you can win this? Don't you see? You can't win," Jibanyan stated confidently, but Pikachu just smirked.

"Oh, you may have thought you had the upper hand for a while. But your confidence will be your downfall, while you have been striking with full force, with no restraint. I have been planning, getting ready for this moment," the electric mouse chuckled a little, the nekomata growled.

"You're all talk! You've been champ for long enough, but this is where you lose!"

"No, kid. You've _already_ lost…" Pikachu looked at the card in his hand and nodded. "For with my Axe of Despair I give my Red-Eyes Black Dragon an additional 1000 ATK points!" He placed the equip spell onto his monster card swiftly. "Making it more powerful than your Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Nyo way!?" Jibanyan exclaimed in shock.

"That's right! It's over!" Pikachu chuckled. "My Red-Eyes attacks your Blue-Eyes!" Jibanyan's panic quickly turned to a look of confidence, though.

"Nyice try! I activate Mirror Force!"

"What!? You had that face-down the whole time!?"

"You're nyot the only one who can plan ahead!"

"Oh yeah! Well my turns not over yet, I activate– "

Ash and Nate watched blankly as the match continued.

"Why'd they do this again?" Nate asked the other boy, whom shrugged.

"I don't know…"

 **6.18 Boohoooo!**

"Dad?" Morty sighed.

"Yes Morty?" Jerry asked.

"I'm glad you had the foresight to not get Snowball this Loop, but this new dog is REALLY freaking me out..." Morty muttered.

"Rude!" Jinmenken glared.

"Also, I caught him peeping on Mom." Morty added.

Jerry, eye-twitching, looked at Jinmenken, who nervously smiled.

"HADOUKEN!" Jerry roared, having recently looped in as Ryu.

"AHHHHH!" Jinmenken screamed, flying into the horizon with a twinkle and a ding.

Meanwhile, at a spa...

Whisper and Jibanyan sighed contently.

"... Do you hear that?" Whisper asked. A screaming Jinmenken promptly fell out of the sky on top of him.

"Ow..." Both groaned.

Back at The Smiths Household...

"Even when I win, I lose." Jerry muttered, his Haudoken having destroyed the house and getting him chewed out by Beth.

 **6.19**

"Super Magical Soldier; Sailor Space! Defender of All! Ready for action!" Inaho exclaimed in a colorful combination of a sailor dress and high-tech armor, after a flashy transformation sequence. She grinned as she prepared to fight some sort of giant, cat monster, that was approaching the school.

"Well, looks like you got what you wanted, Inaho. I'll be over here if you need assistance," Keita stated from nearby with a confident smile on his face, Inaho however sent him a confused look.

"What? Who are you?"

"… Oh," Keita muttered, after sending out a Ping and getting no response. ' _I best keep this to myself, next time Inaho's Awake…_ '

 **6.20**

Inaho snuck into the sleeping Nate's room, from what she could tell, the Anchor wasn't Awake. The purple-haired girl crept over to his bedside and began whispering in his ear.

"Hello, Nate. I am your subconscious, you will listen to and believe whatever I say," Inaho whispered in a spooky-voice.

"Whatever… you say," Nate muttered between snores, Inaho held in her giggles before she began whispering once more.

"Listen carefully; Inaho is your best friend in the entire world…"

"Inaho… best friend…"

"You want to hang out with her all the time, and buy her whatever she wants…"

"Hang out… buy…"

"Sailor Piers is the best anime in the world…" she whispered, she didn't wait to hear if Nate had processed that command before she continued. "You want to talk to Inaho about Sailor Piers, and take her with you to the Sailor Piers movie, and pay for everything. Because she's your best friend…"

"Oh really?" Inaho blinked, before she noticed Nate had Woken up… in both senses of the word, and was glaring at her.

"Um…"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

* * *

"I told you it wouldn't work," Ruby chuckled as sat beside her with a dejected look. "Imitating those Chibi-Loops is just asking for trouble. But don't worry, my brother won't hold a grudge, I'm sure…"

"I just wanted us to hang out more…" Inaho complained before letting out a long sigh.

"Yeah, well next time maybe take my advice instead of trying to imitate the Chibi-me from that variant," Ruby shook her head, a good-natured smile still on her face. The sound of something hitting glass surprised the two, before they looked and spotted a Skreek, that had somehow slammed into a window.

"STUPID CHIBI-LOOPS!" The Skreek shouted in Qrow's voice, before falling to the ground.

"… See?" Ruby pointed out to Inaho, whom now just looked confused.

 **6.21**

"What the… who is this?" Salem questioned, noting the eleven-year old boy that was just sitting in her evil lair, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Oh, him?" Cinder stepped over casually. "That's my younger brother, Keita. I'm watching him for the weekend."

"… What? You can't be serious!?"

"I know, I told dad this weekend wasn't good. But what are you gonna do? Can't leave him alone, and nobody wants to babysit the kid whom can summon ghosts," Cinder explained with a shrug, Salem just kept staring at her with controlled fury and confusion.

"What in the world made you think bringing him here would be–Wait, summon what?"

"Cinder! I'm having my friends possess your friends so I can pull pranks with them!" Keita called out, Salem looked and was shocked to see this random human child exiting the lair, followed by _her_ minions, all of which had a strange glow around them and blank expressions.

"Okay, but be back before dark! And don't tell dad, he'd kill me!" Cinder called out, Salem found herself unable to speak as a proud smirk settled on the face of the inheritor of the Fall Maiden. "Ah, they grow up so fast. Now he's playing pranks, soon he'll be making his own evil schemes. Sunrise, sunset…"

"I… what? How could you…" Salem tried to find the words to speak, but couldn't. None of what had just happened made any sense to her! If Cinder had a brother she should have already known about it! Especially one that could apparently take control of people with _ghosts_ of all things!

"Hey," A shadowy, semi-transparent humanoid floated by. Salem blinked.

"Oh yeah, my dead grandpa's also here," Cinder added as an afterthought.

 **6.22**

"Well, the yo-kai watch vanished, again…" Nate sighed, Whisper floated over to him and nodded. "Guess we should get time traveling _again_ , be careful not to do anything that could crash the– "Nate stopped talking when the watch abruptly reappeared on his wrist. "Huh? It's back…"

"Hmm, maybe Nathaniel Woke up early and fixed the issue himself," Whisper suggested, Nate didn't look so sure.

"If that were the case, wouldn't it have not disappeared at all?"

"I… I don't know. Honestly this whole 'time travel' part of Baseline has always been kind of confusing," the spectral butler admitted with a sigh, before Nate started to shine the yo-kai watches light. "… Nate, really?"

"I know, I know. But it usually is a yo-kai, just admit that."

"True… but you don't even need the watch to see yo-kai anymore. Just use your own eyes!"

"This is easier," Nate denied before the light revealed a hidden form; a dark colored dog with purple eyes appeared, standing with a dull expression.

"And there is one…" Whisper sighed, sounding not at all surprised.

"Check the yo-kai pad. I don't think this yo-kai is Baseline," Nate said, Whisper huffed.

"I'll just check my Loop-memories, I don't need my– "

"Just check the yo-kai pad!"

"Fine! Fine," Springdale/New Sakura Town's second Looper grunted before he pulled the device and began searching. "Hmm, found it! Time… Paradog?"

"Time Paradog?" Nate sweatdropped at the name. What was with yo-kai names and puns?

"Yes, apparently they appear to resolve temporal paradoxes," Whisper explained, pointing towards the dog yo-kai, whom let out a yawn.

"Oh… so we don't need to go back in time?" Nate questioned, not even noticing as the 'Time Paradog' dropped its medal at his feet, before walking away.

"Guess not."

 **6.23**

"Okay, Nate. I know you're good at making friends and all, but I don't think I'm out of line in saying; THIS IS COMPLETELY ABSURD!" Weiss shouted at Ruby and Yang's out-of-Loop sibling, as he sat on a deathstalker's back, impassively petting the heads of Kevin and Charlie whom nuzzled him affectionately from both sides.

"Oh, stop overreacting. At least you don't have to fight them now."

"That's not the point here…" the three giant grimm glared at the local Looper menacingly, but Nate quickly calmed them down.

"Now, now, Kevin, Charlie, Greta. She's just expressing her opinion, don't get all riled up…"

"… You named the deathstalker _Greta_?" Weiss asked blankly.

"She's a good girl," Nate cooed as he patted the giant arachnid's exoskeleton.

"… How do your sisters put up with you?" Weiss questioned, only for a giant explosion to sound behind her, followed by the appearance of a giant dragon, made of cookie dough, Ruby riding atop it, with Yang's dragon form appearing shortly after to do battle with it. "… Oh right, now I remember; you're _all_ insane!"

"Can't talk right now, Weiss. I need to get in on this! Away, Kevin!" Nate announced eagerly, mounting the dragon grimm before it flew off into the sky, toward the other dragons. Weiss just stood back on the ground, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Insane… they really are all insane," she watched the three-way dragon fight for a few seconds, before shrugging and summoning a white version of the grimm dragon, which she rode into the skyward conflict. "Okay, maybe I'm a little insane too…" she couldn't help the small smirk from forming on her face as she joined the dragon battle.

 **6.24 Boohoooo!**

Luigi sighed.

"Mario, the Rabbids were bad enough. I'm not letting you keep this thing!" He face-palmed.

"Rude!" Manjimutt glared.

"Aw come on Weegee! I'll take good care of him!" Mario pleaded.

"... You realize I'm sapient, right? And a looper?" Manjimutt pointed out.

"No." Luigi sighed.

"Pleaseeeeeeeeee?!" Mario begged.

"No!" Luigi exclaimed.

As the two argued, Manjimutt grunted and walked off.

"Noooooo! He's gone!" Mario wailed after ten minutes or arguing.

Meanwhile, Manjimutt was at Peach's Castle, having been hired to do... whatever the heck Toad's job is. He was promptly beaten and fired after looking up Peach's dress.

 **6.25**

"So, Keita. You've replaced me quite a few times, haven't you?" Ruby questioned as she, her younger brother, and Weiss all sat at a table in a café.

"Yeah, many times…" Keita nodded, taking a sip from his coffee.

"I can attest to that," Weiss confirmed with a nod.

"Right, when this happens, you're usually partnered with Weiss, correct?"

"Of course," Keita said as he and the white-haired Looper nodded. "Sometimes Awake, sometimes not. Awake Weiss is easier to deal with."

"Of course I am," Weiss rolled her eyes. Ruby chuckled a little, before continuing.

"Well that brings me to the main question I'd like to ask… has an UnAwake Weiss ever had a crush on you?" Weiss sputtered at the question her partner had just asked.

"R-Ruby!? What the!?"

"Oh yeah, lots of times," Keita affirmed in a casual tone, Weiss stared at him with a mix of shock, embarrassment, and partial disgust.

"W-WHAT!?"

"I thought so," Ruby smiled lightly, before tapping her partner on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Weiss. It's the tree, what were you expecting?"

"Well, yeah, but why bring that up?" Weiss asked, still looking uncomfortable at the direction of this conversation. "I don't want to hear about UnAwake mes gaining romantic feelings for my partner's kid-brother!" Ruby nodded to her partner to signify that she understood… before turning towards Keita and asking him more questions.

"So, is the way Weiss crushes on you consistent whenever it happens, or is it different every time?"

"RUBY!?"

"Plenty of different ways, I'm not sure if it's just variants, or if the tree isn't sure on how Weiss would approach a teammate as a romantic partner, or something," Keita explained with a nod.

"Can you explain a few of the ways it's occurred?" Ruby tilted her head curiously, Weiss looked like she wanted to die.

"Well I'll just say this; Tsundere-Weiss is bad, but Yandere-Weiss is the _worst_."

"I see…"

"I can't believe I'm listening to this," Weiss looked mortified as she threw her face into her hands.

"Hey, Weiss. Calm down, it's not like you're responsible for what the UnAwake yous do," Ruby assured her partner with a pat on the back. "Besides, Keita would never let them get very far, since he has a girlfriend." Ruby happened to say this just as Keita was taking a sip from his drink, which he promptly spat out.

"G-girlfriend!?" Keita slammed his hands on the table, glaring at his sister with a red face. "Fumi-chan and I are not dating!"

"Fumi-chan?" Ruby blinked in confusion. "Who mentioned her? Aren't you and Inaho going out?" Keita gaped, unable to form a sentence. Weiss looked pleased that the target of embarrassment had shifted.

"I-I… I'm not dating Inaho!" the young boy managed to stutter out, looking mortified at the implication. "She's like _another_ annoying sister to me! Where did you even get that idea from!?"

"Oh…" Ruby blinked in confusion, before smiling. "Sorry, guess I just came to that assumption 'cause you two spend a lot of time together…" Ruby hummed innocently for a moment as she stared her brother down. "Still… that doesn't explain why you brought up Fumika…"

"Well, I…" Keita looked unable to come up with an explanation, and still very red in the face.

"Is there maybe something I should know about," his sister gave him a smirk, that would honestly look more natural on the face of one of his other sisters.

"No, no! Nothing more to talk about! See you guys later! Bye, Weiss! Good seeing you!" and Keita was out like a lightning bolt. Weiss turned to look at her still smirking partner, a skeptical look on her own face.

"You knew exactly what you were doing, it's not like that crush of his is a big secret or anything…"

"Weiss, embarrassing one's younger sibling is an integral part of being an older sister, someday you too shall understand this."

"… I don't think I want to… Also, why did you have to ask that stuff about the UnAwake mes crushing on him anyway!?"

"In time, my young friend. In time…"

"Okay, stop talking like that!"

 **6.26**

It was a very chaotic Fused Loop in Remnant, with the land not only under attack by grimm and terrorists, but also alien invaders, malevolent A.I, Wicked Yo-kai, Oni, and various combinations of all the above.

But, however chaotic the world was right now, the inhabitants of the Xiao Long-Rose house were currently preoccupied with other matters…

"Okay, so I'm Summer's, and Yang is Raven's, as per Baseline. And you Nate…?" Ruby glanced over at her youngest sibling sitting across from her.

"Lily; my Baseline mother. Whom Papa-Taiyang married after Summer died," the Yo-kai Watch Anchor sighed as he tried not to look his sister in the eyes, the local Anchor just nodded and noted his words down.

"What of you, bro?" Yang asked the elder brother, whom was barely paying attention to the conversation.

"Raven… I think," Dexter 'Grif' Xiao Long grumbled tiredly.

"This is rather convoluted, isn't it?" Nate questioned Ruby, glancing her way. The red-clad huntress shrugged, before turning to the eldest female at the table.

"Cinder?"

"Qrow."

"Qrow?"

"Yes, Qrow."

"… Okay, Qrow," Ruby wrote down her elder sister's response without any further questions. All while this was happening, Taiyang was sitting silently at the head of the table with an embarrassed expression.

"Think you could benefit from a little self-control, 'son?" Nathaniel questioned with a mocking smirk from behind him.

"Shut up… Also, who let you in my house?" The perturbed father asked the elderly man blankly.

 **6.27**

"Splatoon Loop… not really what I was expecting," Nate, whom was currently an inkling, wiped his brow as he stood with three other inklings, guarding a basket of golden eggs, as an army of fish-like monsters converged on them. The Anchor looked over his memories and groaned. "I don't know what that 'Mr. Grizz' wants with these eggs, but it can't be worth this…"

"There's too many! We're not going to make it!" another of the squad, an inkling-girl, shouted as she fired her splattershot into the wave of scaly creatures. Nate crossed his arms and glanced at the other two members, another girl and a boy, whom were doing the same with their own weapons, fear evident on their faces.

"Okay, everybody STOP!" the sudden shout caused everyone to freeze, even the salmonids… "I have an idea!" Nate turned to stare at one of the salmonids in at the head of the group, and approached it slowly. "Take me to your leader!" at this exclamation, the rest of the squad stared in abject horror, fully expecting the new-recruit to be swiftly devoured by the horde of rabid salmonids.

To the inklings' shock however, the salmonids turned to each other and seemed to be having a conversation, before the one Nate had spoken to turned back to him and nodded with a grunt. Nate smiled, while the other three inkling's eyes nearly popped out of the sockets.

"WHAAAAT!?"

* * *

Nate looked up from the top of the steelhead he had ridden to the salmonid base, surprised at whom was there waiting for him…

"Seriously, it's you?" he questioned, staring up at the humanoid being, with the lower half of a fish, that sat above the other salmonids that were tending to her and standing guard.

"Do not speak to me in that manner, peasant! I am Mermaidyn, Queen of the Salmonids! You puny squid should show me respect!" Nate rolled his eyes at Mermaidyn's boasts, she was clearly Awake, and probably still a little sore about all the times he accidentally fished her out of the water…

"Mermaidyn, I– "

"YOU WILL REFER TO ME BY MY PROPER TITLE!"

"… Mermaidyn, 'Queen of the Salmonids,' I'm here to ask about the salmonid attacks…"

* * *

"Okay, we managed to strike a deal," Nate stated in a pleased tone after he had returned to the other inklings. The other inkling boy was the first to speak.

"a deal!? But, the salmonids mindlessly devour all other creatures in their path, and nearly drove inkling kind to extinction in the past! We thought they were practically mindless monsters!"

"Oh, they _were_. But that was then, and this is now," Nate explained with a proud smirk. "Times change, and we should get on board. They certainly have, the salmonids have been doing a lot of evolving these last few decades. They're no longer the savages spoken of in legend. I spoke in depth with their… queen."

"They have a QUEEN!?"

"Yeah, anyway. They say, if we stop trying to take their eggs, they won't come after us."

"… Wait, that's it? But we're only out here for the eggs… so…" an inkling girl scratched her head in confusion.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. We also need to help them get their stolen eggs back from Grizzco!" after Nate said this, an army of salmonids, weapons ready, sprung up from the water and stood at attention. The three inklings were, once again, at a loss for words. "So… who's ready for a raid?"

 **6.28**

"Concentrate, do not let anything distract you," the purple cat mentor, known as Shadow, said calmly as she looked over the four students of the Kittynati's Black Tabby Dojo, whom were meditating.

She looked up at a female black cat whom was as still as a statue, Shadow brushed a feather-duster over her, but the black cat didn't budge. The teacher nodded.

"Excellent, Blake," she moved on to a male, cream-colored cat whom had a golden charm on his head, he was trying to stay still but kept twitching every now and then. "… Meowth, clear your mind," she stated firmly, Meowth stiffened a bit before Shadow moved onto a male black cat, whom seemed to be in a deep meditative state. Shadow brushed her feather-duster over his fur, he twitched a little before bursting into a laughing fit.

"Bartleby, we are Kittynati, we do not giggle," the teacher stated firmly. Bartleby quickly tried to regain his composure.

"Right, sorry Master!" he exclaimed firmly, getting back into his meditative position. Shadow shook her head before moving onto the last student, a male cat with red and white fur, whom sat in a firm, meditative state.

"Hmm," Shadow looked him over, she waved the feather-duster over his fur, but there was no reaction. The Kittynati Master nodded in approval. "A remarkable improvement, Akamaru. You seem to have– "the purple cat's words were cut off by a loud snore. She opened her eyes and stared at the student before her, whom was now snoring very loudly, her eyes narrowed.

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow…" Akamaru, or Jibanyan, muttered painfully as he rubbed his head.

"Aren't you dead?" Blake questioned blankly. "How can you feel pain?"

"I'm nyot dead right nyow!" the (currently living) cat growled as he glared at the other Looper. "Besides, I still feel pain when I'm a yo-kai…"

"That's kind of odd, don't you think? Why would you still feel pain, if you didn't have a physical body?" Jibanyan raised a paw to answer Blake's questions, but slowly lowered it when no words came out of his mouth.

Nearby, Meowth was sitting by Bartleby, whom seemed distressed about the previous exercise.

"Oh man, I blew it there, I'm never gonna get my Red Tabby-Belt at this rate," the black cat groaned.

"Well, ta be fare, you didn't blow it as bad as Akamaru did…" Meowth pointed out, patting the non-Looping cat on the back.

"Hey!" Jibanyan called out in offense, but Blake quickly interjected.

"He's right, Jibanyan."

"Aw…"

 **6.29**

Yang Awoke in her bed, it was the middle of the night. A look through her memories and she found this Loop had started early; she was currently eleven. Ruby was asleep in the next room over, and her brother… brother?

Yang looked up to find a small, brown-haired head peeking in from the door, before the five-year old boy creeped into the room, holding onto a red, stuffed cat toy, a distressed look on his face.

"… Keita?" she blinked, sending out a Ping, that she received back.

"Yang… I… Last Loop was…" he sniffled a little, looking down at the ground, a bit embarrassed. "Can I… Can I sleep here?" the blond smiled softly at the little boy, she nodded.

"Come on, Keita. Big sis will protect you…" she offered, the currently five-year-old Anchor quickly scurried over and crawled under the covers on the bed, snuggling into his older sister's side. Yang patted his head comfortingly. "Goodnight, baby bro…"

"Goodnight, big sis…" as the two drifted off to sleep, they did not notice the red clad, nine-year-old girl, hiding in the corner with a camera.

"Aw… that's going in the album."


	8. Chapter 7

**7.1**

The first thing Charlie became aware of when he Woke up, was that he seemed to be in the middle of a town…

The second thing? That there were people, _everywhere_ …

In a panic, Charlie quickly began looking around for any route of escape, but there was none, there were too many people! The mysterious creature huddled up and closed his eyes, dreading the camera flashes that would inevitably come…

"… Huh?" Charlie opened an eye in confusion; no cameras were flashing… in fact, none of the people appeared to have even noticed him… "Um… hello?" curiosity taking over fear, the Looper waved his hand in front of a man's face. "Hey, sir? Hi?" the man showed no reaction, just continuing to read his newspaper. "Nobody can see me…?"

A surge of memories suddenly pulsed through Charlie's head, he shook a bit as he processed them. The bears had mentioned something about 'Loop memories' before, though he still wasn't sure how it worked. But once the memories became clear, the shy creature couldn't help but grin.

"I'm an invisible spirit?" he looked around some more, his grin widening as he walked about the town, none of the humans reacting to his presence at all. "Wowie! This is great, I'm a ghost, nobody can see me!" he passed by a well-dressed man, before pretending to take an invisible hat off and giving a bow.

"Good day sir," he chuckled a bit, before waving to a woman. "Morning ma'am!" he kept giving greetings to random people as he made his way through the town, he stopped at the wall of what looked to be a burger place, before sticking his arm right through the wall. "Woo! And I can walk through walls!"

Sneaking in through the back, Charlie grabbed a hold of one of the burgers sitting on the counter… but quickly reconsidered, placing it back down. "No, no Charlie, just because you're invisible, doesn't mean you can go stealing stuff!" he told himself firmly. "I'll come back once I have some money… somehow… wait a minute!"

Charlie reached into his sub-space pocket, and pulled out a ten-dollar bill.

"I knew keeping this was a good idea!" glancing around briefly, Charlie suddenly felt a bit strange with how no one reacted to him. "… Wow, have I always talked to myself this much?"

Charlie was now marching through town, munching on the burger he had (over)paid for.

"Invisible in a town, what to do…" he pondered, finishing the burger. "… This would be funner if the bears, or Chloe were around…" he spotted a brown-haired boy walking by, with a hairstyle that he couldn't help but comment on. "Wow, that kid's hair looks like a cockatoo's!" he mentally told himself that was rude, but he shook it off. It just slipped out, and it wasn't like the kid could hear him…

"Excuse me," a young boy's voice interrupted his thoughts, before he looked and saw the 'cockatoo-hair-kid' glaring at him. "That's rude."

"… Wait a minute, you can see me!?"

* * *

"Okay, so you can see these 'yo-guys' with your watch… thingy?" Charlie questioned the local Anchor, whom looked at him tiredly.

"First of all; 'yo-kai,' or spirits if you'd rather. And yes, I use the yo-kai watch that my grandfather invented. Though I no longer really need the watch to see yo-kai, it does have other uses," Nate explained plainly. "Also, my hair doesn't look like a cockatoo's…"

"It actually sort of does," Whisper interjected, the Anchor just glared at him.

"Er, I am sorry about that. I didn't think you could hear me, but that's not excuse for being rude," Charlie looked a little embarrassed as he rubbed his head. Nate sighed and nodded.

"It's fine, it's not the first time I've been insulted by a yo-kai whom thought I couldn't hear them," Nate stated calmly.

"Um… okay… so, anybody else who can see me that I should know about?" Charlie asked, wanting to change the subject. Nate thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, I assume you don't mean other yo-kai. So, the list is pretty short. My friends Katie and Inaho can see yo-kai through the same logic that I can, they used to need yo-kai watches, but now they don't," Nate smiled a bit as he thought about his friends. "You don't really need to worry about them, Katie's way too nice to want to cause you any discomfort. And, while Inaho can be a pain at times, she's mostly harmless…" Charlie seemed to relax a little a bit more, after being told how few people there actually were whom could see him.

"Well, if it's just two other kids, I don't see it being a problem. Plus, they're Loopers so they probably wouldn't care too much about me," the sasquatch chuckled, Nate nodded.

"I'm here too, you know," Whisper pointed out. Charlie turned to look at the ghost butler, and scratched his head.

"Um… a floating marshmallow?" a tick-mark formed on Whisper's head, Nate held in a laugh.

"I'm a ghost! Why do people keep comparing me to food!? I'm a simple ghost, it's not that hard a concept to grasp!"

"That's what you get, for saying my hair looked like a cockatoo's," Nate smirked, before turning his attention back to the confused visitor. "But he is right, there are a few other Looping yo-kai. Also, my grandpa, he dies before Baseline starts, so he's usually a yo-kai. But, sometimes he Wakes up early and manages to live longer, though this time he's a yo-kai," Nate seemed to think again. "There are also a few other people whom can see yo-kai, but they're pretty much exclusive to the game-variant. They sometimes live in the town in Baseline runs, but it's pretty Loop-variable," at this statement, Whisper snapped out of his rage and looked to his friend/master with confusion.

"That reminds me, did we check if Lucas could see yo-kai this Loop?"

"You know what, I don't think we did. We'll need to do that, I mean, he usually can't in Baseline runs, but it never hurts to check…"

"Yes, I mean, his fluctuating importance between a background character, and a key one with Baseline and the game-variant, makes it rather tricky if we should pay attention to him or not…"

"Yeah, but you know, it's sometimes just nice to talk to my other classmates, even if they don't have much going on in Baseline…"

"… Um, guys?" Whisper and Nate both looked to Charlie, whom looked completely clueless about their conversation, they both sweatdropped. "Gah!? What are those things on your heads!?"

"… You haven't had very many Loops outside of your home, have you?" Nate muttered, Charlie snapped out of whatever shock he had at seeing the sweardrops, and smiled.

"Nope! I'm still pretty new to this, though the bears gave me a pretty good explanation for what to expect."

"… There's no way to explain what to expect," Nate said blankly. The three stared at each other for a moment, before Nate coughed. "So, uh… want to go meet my other Looping friends?" Charlie nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

"Sure, sounds like a plan!"

 **7.2**

"Look! A birdwing butterfly!" Keita exclaimed to his companion.

"That one's mine!"

"No, I saw it first!" Keita and Fumika smirked at each other competitively, their bug-nets ready, before charging forward after the rare insect. They crashed into each other, allowing the bug to flutter away, but the two just laughed it off before charging after other bugs they saw. Isabelle stood nearby, watching the two visiting Loopers with some interest.

"… Those two do realize that the bug catching contest is over, right" Nat asked as he came by, his supplies packed up. "They didn't even submit any entries…" Isabelle gave the chameleon a good-natured smile.

"Somehow, I don't think they care…" the yellow dog chuckled as she watched the two kids pouncing after other insects with their bug-nets. Nat shrugged before continuing his way out of town.

"Got a mantis!" Keita cheered, Fumi stuck her tongue out at him before smirking smugly.

"Oh yeah? Well I got a stag beetle!"

"What kind of stag beetle?"

"A saw stag!" the girl gloated, holding up the beetle. Keita didn't look impressed.

"That's not that great…"

"Better than a mantis!"

"Oh yeah? Well I'm just getting started! Watch me catch a Horned Hercules before the day ends!"

"Oh really? Well I'll be showing off a shiny, golden stag before the day ends!" Keita and Fumika stared at each other fiercely, but through their competitive glares, a couple of friendly grins broke out and the two laughed a little.

"LET'S GO!" they both exclaimed in unison, holding their nets up, before charging off again. Isabelle just shook her head happily before turning to return to the town hall.

 **7.3**

"Get out of here, Snottle!"

"Don't want to, I like it here," The nose-picking yo-kai stated plainly at the Anchor whom was staring him down, both standing in front of Springdale Central Station. "Come on, kid. Let's dig for gold!"

"Nope, I'm no longer affected by your annoying inspirit," Nate huffed, crossing his arms.

"Oh, come on kid! It feels great, just relax," Snottle increased his power, Nate did feel the pull to stick his fingers up his nose, but with a grunt, he kept resisting.

"I am not doing that, leave me be!" he hissed angrily, the two stared at each other, Snottle keeping his fingers in his nose, and Nate refusing to move his from their crossed position. A sudden explosion caused them both to look surprised.

"Oh my swirls! I don't know how to handle this power!" Komasan cried out, running through the streets, a blue aura around his body. "Somebody stop this crazy thing!"

"Wait up, bro!" Komajiro huffed tiredly, chasing after his super-powered brother, whom kept, uncontrollably, rocketing through the city, causing more explosions and panic.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with this!" Jibanyan ran after the two, a similar aura to Komasan's surrounded his body, but his was orange. "I've got this!" another explosion was heard.

Nate stared blankly for a moment, before realizing that he had lost his concentration, and his fingers were now in his nose.

"GAH!"

"Victory!" Snottle called out, running off into the distance, Nate growled as he pulled his fingers from his nostrils.

"I freaking hate that guy…"

 **7.4**

Keita Woke up with a groan at the base of a crashed, and heavily damaged rocket. He looked around at the over-sized flora, before glancing down at his space-suited body. His suit was warning him about the deadly oxygen in the air…

"Pikmin? Don't think I've ever had one of those Loops," he moved to scratch his head, but he just ended up rubbing his helmet. He let out a Ping, but got no response. "… Well, I guess I should do this."

The stranded astronaut looked around the crash site, he spotted something in the ground that looked like a big, red, featureless cat head.

"… I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to look like that, but I'll just go with it," the Anchor muttered to himself. He approached the object, as he got close it suddenly seemed to spring to life, the red brightened as cat head jumped out of the ground, now supported by three 'legs.' And a very familiar face formed on it…

"Hiya, Keita! Nya!" The Jibanyan-head-thing greeted cheerfully, along with a Ping, before glancing down at the seed that had popped out of his ear and planted itself into the ground. "Hmm, that's a thing… nya."

"Jibanyan, why are you the red pikmin onion?" Keita questioned blankly, before shaking his head and holding a hand up. "Wait, don't answer that. Yggdrasil does weird junk, got it."

"I suppose that would be it, I'm confused too, nya," Jibanyan stated, if he had shoulders, he would've shrugged. "So, how about you just pick that little sprout there, nya?"

"Fine, it's not like the prospect of dying really bothers me, but I might as well try to deal with this," the Anchor shrugged before moving towards the red sprout sticking out of the ground. "So, I'm guessing you weren't conscious until I activated you, or whatever it was that just happened…?"

"Well, I don't remember anything from before that in this Loop, so probably! Nya!" Keita gripped hold of the stem and pulled, with a pop a small creature came out of the ground.

Keita stared at the being that stared back at him; it looked like Jibanyan, except for the solid red body, stem sticking out of its head, and the lack of any facial-features beyond the pair of big eyes, and pointy nose.

"… Hey, Jibanyan?"

"Yeah, Keita? Nya…"

"Can you… control this thing?"

"Hmm, let me try…" the 'Piknyan' began flailing its arms around in a comical fashion, Keita held in a chuckle when it ended up slapping itself. "Ow! Yeah, it seems so. And I feel what it does! Nya!"

"Hmm… this gives me some ideas; do you think you could use your powers through it?" Keita questioned with an inquisitive look.

 **7.5 KaiserRichard**

"Nate? Why are you summoning Duchoo at this time? Are you planning to play hooky to finish your game again?" Whisper asked his master about his choice.

"...Not exactly." Nate started to explain "This one time, when I was in the Hub, one of my nicknames for my Yo-kai form is 'blueberry'"

"And?"

"The tree had it's fun with me in the last loop. It dropped me into Wonka's factory, as Violet."

"Ok, but what does this have to do about skipping school?"

"Katie was Charlie. And was Awake."

"Oh..."

"But wait," Jibanyan interrupted into the conversation "Can't she just visit you even if you're nyot sick? And even then, she knows about the whole Duchoo thing, you two swapped roles a few loops back."

Nate blushed so hard that it looked like his face was a cherry. He buried his head into his pillow. "Remind me to tell Wonka to replace the dessert with a Strawberry Tart next time I see him"

Katie, who was waiting outside for Nate, shouted, "Hey Mr. Average Blueberry Boy~!"

 **7.6**

"So… apparently I have… kids?" Keita spoke with a blank expression, Whisper, whom was dusting, immediately dropped what he was doing and stared at the boy in shock. Jibanyan's ears perked as he looked up, even Hikikōmori peeked out from the closet.

"… I'm sorry, Keita-kun, but; WHAT!? WISSU!" Whisper exclaimed in an outburst of confusion.

"He's talking about Hanahojin… nya," Jibanyan interjected, though he didn't seem to want to get into the conversation.

"That nose-picking guy!? Wissu, I repeat; WHAT!?"

"Actually, it's a lot of nose-picking yo-kai," Keita added. "But, that part of it is confusing, and Loop variable. It's the main one I'm most concerned about… and by main, I mean the one that has a concrete personality," the Anchor tried to explain, though the attempt just sort of fell flat with how Whisper was still reacting.

"I-I, What!? How!? Why!? Wissu!?" The ghost butler floated around the bedroom in a frantic manner as he tried to process what he had been told. Keita turned his focus to Jibanyan.

"I don't even know if 'kids' is the right word, but they were born from my boogers… as gross as that is to think about…" Keita muttered the last part of his sentence to himself. "But they did come from my body… and also, I'm a little freaked out by the fact that someone's _booger_ of all things could become a yo-kai!"

"I don't pretend to understand all the details of this yo-kai world I was born-er-killed into, I just go with it," Jibanyan sighed tiredly. "If an abandon hat, an upturned umbrella, and an abused cloth can become yo-kai, why nyot a booger-nya?"

"So basically, don't ever stop using, misuse, break, or throw away any item, nor should you release any bodily excretions, less you create yo-kai that will come after you for vengeance… or at least annoy you?" Keita questioned, crossing his arms with a dumbfounded expression.

"Yes, nya."

"… That's just dumb."

"Also yes, nya." Jibanyan nodded, Keita groaned. "… So, what are you going to do about it, nyow that you knyow?"

"I don't know… talk to them I guess?" Keita sighed with a confused expression. "The nose-picking thing has always been annoying, but now that I know why they were doing it, I can't really stay mad at them… though I'd still like to put a stop to the nose-picking, talking seems like the best way to do that… But, do I tell them to stop as a friend, or a father or what? How do I handle this?" the Anchor clutched his head. "Arg! I don't know what to do! I'm too young to be a dad!"

"… Aren't you like, several-millions of years old? Nya."

"I-I don't know! Probably! I stopped keeping track after the first few hundred!" Keita shook his head and let out a deep breath. "Just… give me some time, I'll figure out what to do…"

"Okay…" Jibanyan sat his head back down, his ears still twitching a little. "… Also, Keita?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry… my UnAwake-self attacked your UnAwake-self instead of explaining the details to you…"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Ignorant of the situation or not, UnAwake me was being a jerk," Keita shrugged, the two looked at each other again, before breaking out into a few friendly chuckles. Whisper hadn't heard most of their conversation, as he was still floating around the room, trying to process what he had been told.

"Just, what!? How the!? Eleven years old! Kids!? Hanahojin!? Boogers!? How!? Why!? WISSU!?" Hikikōmori let out a little laugh as she watched Whisper's antics, before closing the closet door.

 **7.7**

"No offense Nate, but you never really struck me as the type of guy to hold a séance," Lina commented as she sat in a circle with Zoey, Katie, Eddie, Bear, and the one whom invited them all to his house for this; Nate.

"There's a lot of things I do that I wouldn't seem like the type of guy to do," The Anchor commented coolly, Katie chuckled a little while Eddie and Bear exchanged confused looks.

"And what kind of things would those be?" Zoey interjected with a mischievous smirk, Nate didn't respond as he grabbed hold of Katie and Lina's hands.

"Everyone join hands now, we need to do this seriously if we want the spirits to respond," Nate explained confidently, Katie linked hands with Eddie, whom linked hands with Bear, to Zoey, and back to Lina.

"Um, why are we doing this anyway?" Bear questioned.

"Yeah, there's no scientific evidence of ghosts existing. This seems like a waste of time," Eddie sighed with a bored look.

"Oh come on guys, where's your sense of adventure?" Katie laughed as the two boys looked at her with confusion.

"Besides, if you're going to be in the ghost club, this kind of thing is going to come up," Lina added with Zoey nodding in agreement.

"When did we agree to join the ghost club?" Eddie questioned blankly.

"When you agreed to come to this meeting, now shush!" Nate stated firmly, before closing his eyes and humming. "I'm going to call for the spirit of my grandfather…"

"Are you serious…" Eddie sighed.

"Shhhh!" Zoey snapped before returning to watching Nate with interest.

"… Hey, grandpa? It's me, Nate, can you hear me?"

"…"

"… Nothing's happening," Bear muttered with a somewhat disappointed look.

"I told you," Eddie sighed.

"Would you guys just be patient," Zoey hissed in annoyance, Lina and Kate nodded.

"I don't see why I should be patient for something that will amount to nothing," Eddie shook his head. "Sorry, Nate. I know your just trying to have fun, but I think this isn't– "

" _Moxy…"_

"… What was that?" Bear stiffened a bit.

"The spirits are calling…" Lina gave a mysterious smile.

"It was just the wind," Eddie countered firmly.

"Grandpa, is that you? Can you hear me?"

" _Moxy!"_

"That didn't sound like the wind to me," Bear shivered as he looked around the dark room nervously.

"That's because it wasn't," Katie chuckled with a smirk that Nate shared, Eddie still stood to his beliefs, but his resolve was starting to shake, Lina and Zoey were both extremely excited.

"Grandpa, I hear you! We hear you! Please, show yourself!" Nate opened his eyes as he called loudly.

"…"

"… See, I told you it was nothing," Eddie stated confidently. "Just the wind…"

"Y-yeah, just the– "Bear started to agree, when suddenly a puff of purple smoke burst in the middle of their circle. "GHA!"

"Da, da, da! Moxy!" a small, shadowy humanoid exclaimed, appearing from the smoke and striking a heroic pose.

"AAAHHH! GHOST!" Eddie and Bear both shouted in shock and fear, before they got up and ran straight out the front door.

"… Huh, that wasn't the welcome I was expecting," Moximous N commented with a confused look, Lina and Zoey both stared at him with amazed expressions, while Nate and Katie laughed.

 **7.8**

Jinmenken groaned as he Woke up to find himself being arrested, always a frustrating experience…

"Okay, freak show. Let's get to the station," one of the officers said in a friendly, yet somewhat mocking tone as he held the car door open for the man-faced dog. Before Jinmenken could get into the car, the ground started shaking.

"… Earthquake?" the other officer questioned in concern.

"These feel like footsteps…" Jinmenken interjected, though he was, predictably, ignored.

"… What is that?" the first police officer asked in confusion as the shaking got worse.

"AO!" a loud roar suddenly interrupted any contemplation, and the two officers looked ahead in shock.

"What are _those_!?" the other asked in fear, at the large army of Aka and Ao Oni, rushing towards them. The ground shook even more erratically under the force of the many giant onis' stomping feet.

"AKA!" One of the red oni shouted, smashing its club into the police car, sending it flying. Without a second thought, the two policemen screamed and ran away, leaving Jinmenken to the onis' mercy…

"Well… this Loop is starting off just swimmingly…" the yo-kai grumbled as Aka and Ao Oni surrounded him.

"AKA!"

"AO!"

"STOP!" a familiar, female voice shouted. The oni suddenly froze, lowering their clubs. Jinmenken watched in confusions as the red and blue oni stepped away to clear a path, for the appearance of an imposing Kuro Oni.

"Kuro…" the black oni growled as it stomped forward, that's when Jinmenken got a good look at the person riding on its head.

"Don't hurt him, he's a friend of mine…"

"… FUMIKA!?"

* * *

"I think she went this way," Keita said, at the head of a group consisting of himself, Whisper, Jibanyan, Inaho and USApyon.

"Aha! Excellent deduction, Watson! I was about to declare the same thing," Inaho said proudly, Keita glared at her.

"… Don't call me 'Watson.'"

"Can we just find that crazy girl before she does something we'll all regret? Dani…" USApyon groaned. "I honestly expected this kind of thing from Inaho-dani!"

"I would've done it, but she beat me to it!" Inaho huffed.

"Just follow the destruction so we can stop Fumi-chan! Wissu!" Whisper interjected frantically, Jibanyan yawned with a look of disinterest.

"You guys looking for Fumi-chan?" the group looked over and saw a disturbed Jinmenken approaching them. "Because I know where she went…"

* * *

"I'm the queen of the oni!" Fumika laughed from atop Kuro Oni's head, said oni roared from the roof of the school, as the other oni let out their own roars from the ground.

Keita, Whisper, Jibanyan, USApyon and Inaho watched with blank expressions, Jinmenken choosing to take his leave of this situation.

"My word, what has gotten into that girl? Wissu…" Whisper spoke with concern as Fumika let out a maniacal laugh.

"I bet it was boredom, nya," Jibanyan commented uncaringly.

"No fair, Fumika! If you were planning to go crazy you should've told me! I want in on this!" Inaho shouted, shaking a fist in the air. Keita and USApyon both sighed out of annoyance.

 **7.9 Boohoooo!**

"... What?" Nate said blankly.

"It's true! Manjimutt got elected president!" Whisper cheered.

"I heard it was a landslide win, too." Hidabat added from the closet.

"Man! A Yo-Kai president is good for us underrepresented creatures!" Jibanyan added.

As the three Yo-Kai continued to talk, Nate continued to stare blankly, unable to process this information.

Meanwhile, at the White House...

Manjimutt was doing a bunch of paperwork.

"This... isn't as great as I'd thought it'd be..." He mused.

"OW! PAPERCUT!" Grizz, Manjimutt's assistant, exclaimed from the other room, the bear also doing paperwork.

 **7.10**

Nate glanced around the hallway of his school with caution.

' _Of all the Loops to be pocket-locked…_ ' the Anchor thought to himself with a grunt, he crept forward carefully, but before he made it to the end of the hall, several streams of toilet paper shot out from the girls' bathroom and wrapped around his arms and body.

"Oh, come on!"

"Going somewhere, Natey-kins," Toiletta peeked out of the bathroom, an eager grin on her face, Nate growled as he tried to pull the paper restraints from his body. "Why do you keep running, darling? Come on into my toilet, we can spend some... quality time together," the bathroom-inhabiting ghost giggled mischievously, Nate struggled even harder.

"Thank you for the offer, but I must politely refuse!" the Anchor exclaimed frantically, Toiletta floated over to his side and twirled his hair a little with one of her fingers. "Personal-space, please!"

"Why must you continue to deny our love, my dear? We are destined to be together forever, in my toilet," the female yo-kai grinned, Nate just stared blankly, seemingly having trouble processing the previous sentence…

"Unhand him…" a cold voice echoed through the hall, Nate and Toiletta both stiffened, before the frigid air started to seep into the hall, the walls starting to ice-over. Blizzaria floated overhead with a stern expression. "Honey, are you cheating on me?"

"… Would you accept 'we're not in a relationship' as an answer?" the look on the ice yo-kai's face gave Nate his answer. "Yeah, didn't think so…" he broke free from the now frozen paper, and quickly began sliding on the ice-covered floors.

"Hey! Get back here darling!" Toiletta cried out as she floated after him.

"He's not your 'darling!' he's my husband!" Blizzaria protested, also giving chase.

"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!" Nate growled to himself as he kept sliding away from the pursuing female-spirits, he started running when he got to non-frozen ground once more and made a turn in the hall, only to stop before he ran into another yo-kai.

"Oh, hello there dear, fancy meeting you here," Insomni smiled playfully as she floated before the frazzled boy, he glanced back to see that Toiletta and Blizzaria were still approaching, before looking back at the third yo-kai blocking his path, his eye twitched…

"I HATE HAREM LOOPS!" Nate shouted as he jumped out the window and fell into the bushes, where he hid for the remainder of the Loop.

 **7.11**

"Um… Yang?" the UnAwake Weiss looked at her friend questioningly.

"Yeah, Weiss?" Yang grinned at her at the white-haired girl, it was a Chibi-Loop, and everything seemed normal (for a Chibi-Loop…), except for…

"Do you know there's a little boy in your hair…?" at this question, Yang looked up, at the same time Nate looked down. The two smiled and Nate snuggled further into his sister's hair.

"Oh, don't worry about him, he just does that," the blond Looper shrugged. "It makes him feel safe…"

"Safe…?"

"You know, from the ghosts?"

"Ghosts…?" Weiss felt very confused, Ruby walked into the room humming a happy tune.

"Hey Weiss, Hey Yang, Hey Nate!" she continued humming as she walked, before her eyes widened and she sped back over. "Wait a minute! Nate!? Yang, what's he doing here!?" Ruby exclaimed worriedly, Weiss glanced between the two sisters with a quizzical expression.

"Oh, he was getting too scared back home with dad, so he came to find his favorite nest, obviously," Yang explained with a confident smile, Ruby took a few steps back.

"Right… well…"

"Hi Ruby!" Nate waved with an innocent smile, the leader of team RWBY stiffly waved back as she edged out of the room.

"Yes… hi, Nate. Um, Weiss… could I talk to you… in the other room?"

"Um… sure…" Weiss kept glancing between Yang, whom had her little brother resting in her hair, and Ruby, whom kept motioning her to exit the room. She followed Ruby, whom softly shut the door behind her.

"Okay! This is a code red! Or blue! I don't know which color? White? Ghosts are white…" Ruby muttered frantically as she paced, the W of RWBY patience was wearing thin…

"Ruby!" Weiss snapped, Ruby jumped a little and looked around.

"Shhh!" she hushed her partner, the red-clad girl subtly cracked the door open and peeked inside, she saw Yang happily humming as she sat on the bed, Nate peacefully sleeping in her hair, Ruby closed the door with a sigh of relief. "Be careful Weiss…"

"… What? I don't understand?"

"… Weiss, my brother can't get scared," Ruby stated in a serious tone, her partner kept her confused expression.

"Um, what? Ruby, he's a little boy, even if he's your and Yang's brother, I find it hard to believe that– "

"No! Weiss, you don't understand. My brother _can't_ get scared!" Ruby insisted, her pupils shrinking a little. "Or, at least, we can't let him get scared…"

"… I'm not following you?"

"Did Yang mention the ghosts?"

"She said ghosts, I wasn't really sure what she meant…" Weiss scratched her head, Ruby kept pacing and muttered a few more things.

"Okay, here's how it is. When my brother gets scared, we _all_ get scared with him. As in, this place will become a real-life haunted house!" the leader softly exclaimed, a scared expression on her face. "Or… haunted academy?" Ruby mumbled to herself in thought, Weiss glared.

"Ruby, you are still doing a terrible job of explaining. Stop being vague and just say what you mean!" this outburst was met by a red blur tackling her and her mouth being covered.

"No sudden noises!" Ruby hissed quietly, "If he gets scared, we're all in the ghost-house!"

"… I'm not following any of this," Weiss admitted after Ruby let go of her.

"Okay, look… my little brother has a power, or something… we don't know if it's his semblance, but he can't control it," Ruby explained calmly. "Whenever he gets scared, ghosts just… appear… and they haunt the area until he's not scared anymore…"

"… What?"

"Yeah, but so long as he stays in Yang's hair, he should be fine," Ruby nodded, letting out a sigh. "For some reason, he feels safe when he's in Yang's hair…"

"…"

"So, we just need to make sure nothing frightens him, or removes him from Yang's head, or else we'll be dealing with the poltergeists," Ruby nodded confidently, Weiss just kept staring blankly.

"… Now, when you say 'ghosts'…" Ruby let out a groan before her partner finished her question and shook her head.

"Fine! You know what? I'll show you," she leader quickly grabbed her white-haired friend by the wrist and lead her back into their room, before she marched up to her sister and brother.

"Hey sis," Yang greeted.

"Hi Ruby," Nate smiled, Ruby gave no response, before emotionlessly grabbing Nate by his shirt, and pulling him from Yang's head. "Huh? Huh… uh, AH!" the little brown-haired boy started shaking as the room grew dark, Weiss' eyes widened as Yang backed up.

"Ruby, why!?" the blond sister called out in fear, Ruby sighed, Nate cried. Weiss looked around the dark room as transparent, shadowy shapes started to form, there were voices, earie voices…

Then Ruby placed her distressed brother back on Yang's head, he visibly calmed down, and the darkness and shadows receded…

"… Don't take my brother off Yang's head, spread the word," Ruby stated calmly to the shaken Weiss. The white-haired huntress nodded numbly, before walking out of the room without another word.

"… Well, that was something," Nate commented after a moment, Yang and Ruby chuckled.

"How long do you think we can keep this prank going?" Yang asked with a mischievous smirk.

"I'm hoping the whole Loop," Nate laughed as he curled up in her hair.

"Yeah! Little brother-Big sister-prank Loop!" Ruby cheered, the three all laughed together.

 **7.12 Boohoooo!**

"OK, What?!" Nate exclaimed.

"The Yo-Kai Watch gained sentience and got elected President." Whisper shrugged, just as confused.

Nate and Whisper continued to look at each other.

"... I'm gonna go lay down." Nate sighed, massaging his head. Whisper went to do the same.

Meanwhile, at the White House...

"Part one of your master plan has been accomplished, sir!" The Yo-Kai Watch announced over a video call.

"Excellent." Evil Morty smirked.

 **7.13**

It was another 'big family' Loop for the Rose-Xiao Long house, with all the siblings home and Awake, it was a rare and happy occurrence.

However, the youngest of the family did not seem very happy…

"Keita?" Yang looked at her little brother questioningly, he was sitting at the table, a depressed look on his face. "What's the matter?" their other siblings; Ruby, Cinder and Grif, along with their father; Taiyang, were all near but doing their own things. Keita's next words however, caught all of their attention.

"I'm a terrible father…"

"… I'm sorry, but what!?" Yang gaped at those words, the others looking over with some interest.

"Okay, what happened…" Grif sighed as he stepped over. "Did you get a time-skip Expansion?"

"… No," Keita shook his head, still sitting with a melancholy expression. "Normal Expansion, but it turns out that… well, you guys know that yo-kai; Hanahojin?"

"The nose-picking one? Yeah, why?" Ruby questioned, looking curious over where this conversation was going. Cinder had already seemed to have lost interest, while Taiyang was frozen in place with a shocked expression.

"Well… it turns out that he was originally a booger I picked from my nose before he became a yo-kai, making me sort-of his dad… and the other ones too…" Keita explained with a sigh.

"… Okay," Yang nodded, not sure what else to say here,

"So, I have a booger-nephew?" Ruby concluded, seeming a lot less shocked then her sister.

"Nephews, possibly nieces too… there's more than one, but other than the main one they're very Loop-variable…"

"Neat!"

"Isn't this family tree complicated enough!?" Cinder called from the other side of the room. Grif groaned, before grabbing hold of his younger brother's shoulder.

"Keita, absurd method of reproduction aside, why do you think you're a terrible father?" Keita looked away from the older boy.

"Well… I haven't exactly been the kindest to Hanahojin, I always just saw him as a nuisance when he would bug me in Baseline… I never understood that it was just his and the others' way of trying to get close to me…"

"Okay, and? Did your Baseline-self know about this yo-kai being your… 'son?'" Grif questioned, looking unsure if that was the appropriate term to use for this situation.

"Well… no…"

"Then, don't worry about it. You can't undo what your Baseline-self does, and how could he have ever been a decent father if he didn't even know he was one… and was also eleven?" Grif questioned plainly, Keita scratched his head in thought.

"I guess…"

"I still confused how exactly some nose-picking yo-kai is your son, and by extension, our nephew. But if that's the case I'm sure you can be a great dad if you put in the effort," Yang added, Ruby nodding in agreement. Keita let out a little sigh of relief at his siblings' comfort and smiled.

"Thanks guys…"

"… I'm a grandfather!?" Taiyang finally snapped out of his frozen-state, his various kids, Baseline or otherwise, all looked at him with blank expressions, before they all laughed a little. "… Seriously! I'm a grandfather? Nose-picking yo-kai!? I have many questions here!"

 **7.14**

"Come on, Sun! We've got a case!" Neptune announced, just as his partner Woke up and realized he was in a Chibi-Loop.

"Um, sure. Right behind you!" the monkey faunus smiled as he followed after the blue haired teen.

"There was a robbery down town! Let's go!" Neptune explained as they got into the car and drove off.

* * *

"Never fear! The Junior Detectives are on the case!" Neptune announced with enthusiasm, stepping out of the car with calmly Sun following. The old man whom seemed to run every shop was standing in front of the building, the window was broken and there was police tape covering the scene. "Never fear citizen! We'll catch those criminals; can you tell us what you saw?" the man opened his mouth to speak.

"Not so fast!" a young female voice interrupted them, the old man closed his mouth as Sun and Neptune looked to see an eleven-year-old girl, along with a strange little creature in a rabbit-themed space-suit walking over. Sun recognized them as Inaho and USApyon, Neptune was just confused. "We'll take it from here, USApyon, check for clues."

"I was going to do that anyway, stop trying to be in charge, dani," USApyon grumbled as he walked toward the scene, taking on a thoughtful posture.

"Wow! Hold on, you can't go over there!" Neptune protested, Inaho held up a hand.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt your… 'investigation,' but this is our case. So, run along and do… whatever it is you do, USApyon and I have this covered," the purple-haired girl waved him off, leaving the young hunter dumbfounded.

"This was definitely the work of a yo-kai, dani," USApyon nodded as he stepped back over to Inaho. "The old man says he didn't see anything, and all that were stolen were a bunch of exporbs! Dani!"

"What even is this thing!?" Neptune questioned loudly, pointing towards USApyon. The otter yo-kai regarded him with a blank glare before turning back to Inaho.

"It's doubtful any humans will know much about this situation, should we check with our yo-kai contacts, dani?"

"Sounds like a plan! We'll have this case solved in no time!" Inaho gave a thumbs-up as the two left.

"Well… seems they have it under control," Sun shrugged, Neptune's eye twitched.

"Oh no! This is our case! I may not know what they're yo-guys or whatever they're talking about are, but we were here first!" Neptune shouted, shaking his fist at the leaving duo. "You hear me! We'll solve this case first!"

"For the record, he doesn't speak for both of us," Sun stated, Neptune didn't seem to hear him.

"Mark my words! I will not be beaten by a little girl!"

"Hey!" Neptune and Sun both blinked, before turning to see Ruby, an offended look on her face. "I'm only two years younger than you!"

"No, not you! The other little girl!" Neptune explained, before turning and seeing Neo, glaring at him. "Oh, come on!" Sun sighed and shook his head.

"This is going to be a long Loop…"

 **7.15 Boohoooo!**

"... How?!" Nate exclaimed, reading a newspaper that stated USApyon was elected President.

"I know! I should have won!" Manjimutt whined, completely forgetting his previous stint as President.

Everyone gave the dog Yo-Kai a deadpan expression.

At the White House...

"... And that's why you'll just be a puppet while I'M the TRUE president." Badsmella smirked.

"I like your suggestion, but... no." USApyon shrugged, snapping his fingers. Badsmella and a bunch of other people and Yo-Kai in the room promptly received headshots.

"Errrr… is t-that g-good, sir?" Swelton gulped, having been polishing USApyon's shoes.

"Yes. Yes, it is. Y'know, now seems like a good time for a speec-" USApyon began, before Inaho burst in.

"I'M VVVVVVPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" She exclaimed.

"DANG IT INAHO! I WAS ABOUT TO GIVE A SPEECH WITH DARK OVERTONES!" USApyon roared, chasing the girl around and attempting to force-choke her.

 **7.16**

"Snottle!" Nate called out to the nose-picking yo-kai that appeared to force him to pick his nose, as he usually did, but the Anchor held an expression more of stern authority than frustration as he usually did, confusing the UnAwake Whisper whom floated nearby. "Stop inspiriting me right now!"

"No way, nose-picking is great, dig for gold!" Snottle shot back proudly, Nate sighed, resisting the inspiritment and approaching the yo-ka.

"Snottle, I know why you're doing this, and I'm sorry that I've hurt you," Nate spoke calmly, Snottle looked at him blankly as Whisper kept his confused expression. "But, I also have to be firm. As your father, I order you to stop inspiriting people to pick their noses in public!" and with that, everything seemed to freeze.

"… F-FATHER!?" Whisper shouted out in shock. Snottle just stood, frozen in place, before he sniffled a little.

"D-Dad?" he took a few steps forward towards Nate, whom had calmed a bit, but still looking at Snottle sternly. "You remember me? You finally remember me?"

"I couldn't remember you because I never knew about you! Why didn't you explain yourself!?" the Anchor snapped, causing the nose-picking yo-kai to shrink away. "Sorry! Sorry!" Nate waved his hands, moving over to Snottle and placing an arm around him. "Look, I know now that I'm… kind of your dad, I mean, you did come from me, right?"

"… Yeah," Snottle nodded, Nate noted that his fingers still never left his nose, but decided to ignore it.

"And you kept inspiriting me because you wanted me to remember when I picked you out of my nose when I was little, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, no offense, but that plan made no sense," Nate sighed, Snottle blinked confusedly. "I didn't even know about yo-kai when I was that young, nor did I ever think a booger of all things could become sentient. I would've never connected you to such a time in my life without an explanation."

"Oh…" Snottle drooped a little at the realization, but Nate kept the comforting position. "But then, how did you find out?"

"… That's… complicated."

"Complicated? I don't even know what's going on!" Whisper suddenly interjected, Nate glared at the ghostly butler, making him shut up.

"Anyway," Nate turned back to Snottle. "It's not important how I found out, the point is I haven't been the dad you deserve. But I intend to change that! We can spend the whole Loo-er, we can spend a lot of time together," the Anchor quickly corrected himself, even as his 'son' looked at him with both hope and confusion. "Do stuff together, father and son… also we should get your siblings too I suppose…"

"Siblings? I have siblings?" Snottle tilted his head in confusion.

"Oh, um… no," Nate muttered with a sweatdrop, remembering that that detail was pretty Loop variable, but wasn't expecting the other Snottles to straight up not exist…

* * *

"Fishing is a great father-son activity!" Whisper smiled, having gotten over the insanity of this situation and was now determined to help Nate and his 'son' bond.

"I don't know about this Whisper…" Nate muttered, holding a fishing pole, remembering what usually happened when he went fishing. Especially since Mermaidyn was Awake this Loop.

"Come now, it's no big deal if you don't catch anything big," Whisper shrugged, apparently not getting what Nate's actual concerns were. "And look how excited he is!"

"Let's fish, Dad!" Snottle exclaimed, holding up a fishing pole, he didn't even have any of his fingers in his nose. Nate muttered a bit to himself, before deciding to just do it and the two began to fish.

"..."

"I got a bite!" Nate exclaimed, his fishing pole starting to shake.

"Reel it in Dad!"

"You go, Nate!" the two yo-kai cheered, though Nate wasn't really enthusiastic about what he was sure was on the other end.

"NATE!" Mermaidyn shouted in outrage as she was pulled out of the water by her hair. "I thought we agreed that you would stop fishing while I was Awake!"

"… I'm sorry, it's just– "Nate started to explain, when Whisper suddenly floated forward in excitement.

"Oh my! Is that the classic yo-kai Mermaidyn!?"

"Dad, I got a bite!" Snottle suddenly interrupted, the other three stopped any argument and turned to the somewhat-humanoid yo-kai as he reeled in his rod, with a splash his catch was revealed to be… what looked like a smaller version of Snottle, with a mermaid tail and some other traits of Mermaidyn, like the hair the line was caught in. The strange mini-hybrid silently struggled to get free.

"… GAH! WHAT IS THAT THING!?" Nate suddenly shouted, Whisper and Mermaidyn giving similar reactions of panic and confusion. Snottle and the strange Snottle/Mermaidyn-like creature just looked confused.

* * *

"Introducing family to new family members is a good way for us all to bond," Nate explained to Snottle as they stood in his room. "And, since my parents can't see yo-kai, I figured I should summon someone special to meet you," he pulled a brave-tribe medal from his pocket, Snottle tilted his head in curiosity.

"Who's that, Dad?"

"You'll see," the brown-haired boy smiled, before getting ready for the summoning. "Come on out my family! Calling Moximous N! Yo-ka medal do your thing!" he exclaimed before inserting the medal into the yo-kai watch model zero.

" **Oh, summoning time!"** the digital voice of the watch exclaimed, before it played the summoning tune for the brave tribe. Nate turned a dial and the tune stopped. **"Summoning Brave!"**

"Moximous N! Moxy!" a small shadowing humanoid with a cape and what seemed to be spiky hair exclaimed after appearing, he smiled at Nate. "Hey, Nate? So, what did you call me for?"

"Hello Grandpa, it's good to see you," Nate greeted respectfully, Snottle's eyes widened. "I summoned you because I wanted you to meet someone," ' _even if you're not Awake…_ ' Nate thought briefly, before gesturing to the nose-picking yo-kai at his side. "This is my son, Snottle…"

"… Son?" Moximous N blinked in surprise as he looked over Snottle. "No offense, Nate, but aren't you a little young for… that?"

"Er… Grandpa, Snottle wasn't conceived in the… traditional sense," Nate muttered with an embarrassed look. "He… sort of started out as one of my boogers…"

"… Even after I became one, yo-kai are still confusing," Moximous N muttered blankly.

"So… you're my Great-Grandfather?" Snottle questioned in wonder, the Brave yo-kai looked at him critically.

"… Do you always stick your fingers in your nose when you meet your elders?"

"Um… uh…"

"Ha, just kidding," Moximous N smirked. "I know all about how yo-kai quirks are, don't sweat it kid!" Snottle blinked before nodding, Nate smiled.

* * *

"Hey there! I'm Katie, I'm a good friend of your dad," the Awake Katie greeted the nose-picking yo-kai, Nate watching from a few feet away. Snottle stared up at Katie curiously.

"… Are you my mom?"

"… Huh!?" Katie blinked in surprise, Nate gained a shocked expression, and both of them turned red. "W-what? Why would you…?"

"Well… I seem to recall Dad stares at you a lot with a weird look, and it's kind of like I see other kids' parents looking at each other? And I've seen you before and you sometimes look at him the same way, so…"

"Okay! That's enough for now!" Nate rushed over, grabbing Snottle by the arm and dragging him away. "Say goodbye to Katie!"

"Um, by Katie…" Snottle waved as he was dragged away by his flustered father, leaving behind an equally flustered Katie…

 **Next Loop**

"What to do, what to do…" Keita muttered to himself as he walked along the sidewalk to school, Whisper had been freed by Fumika this Loop, and Keita was having trouble deciding what he wanted to do instead of his typical Baseline routine… which, to be fair, he didn't follow all that much anyway…

"Dad!" the call of a familiar, nose-picking yo-kai caught the Anchor's attention, Keita turned to see a panicking Hanahojin approaching him, Keita was a little surprised, since the yo-kai didn't usually just refer to him as 'Dad' to his face without some kind of prompting.

"Hanahojin," Keita greeted casually, despite the fact that as far as the yo-kai knew, he shouldn't know his name yet. Though, the booger-made yo-kai seemed more concerned with something else.

"Dad! I'm really confused right now! A bunch of names changed, I have memories of a bunch of siblings I'm pretty sure I didn't remember having before, and time jumped backwards or something!" Keita froze a bit as he processed what he had just been told, before letting out a sigh.

"Of course…" he let out a deep breath, before calmly looking towards Hanahojin. "Come with me, son. We have a _lot_ to discuss…" he took began moving towards his home, the short yo-kai following. ' _What the heck am I going to say to Ruby, Yang and Grif? This is going to be a doozy…_ '

 **7.17**

"And then, I knocked his block off!" Yang exclaimed to her younger brother with a confidant expression. "And he literally ping-ponged right out of the gas station!"

"Wow, seriously!? Is there no end to your awesomeness, Yang," Nate smiled to his older sister, whom ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Aw, now don't you try to flatter me, I'm sure you've got plenty of awesomeness yourself!"

From the nearby table Grif looked with a bored expression, a hand snuck over and grabbed one of the oreos on his plate, which he quickly smacked.

"Ow! Dexter!" Ruby whined as she pulled her hand away.

"You should know better by now," the older brother stated plainly.

"Um, actually, seeing as we're all together in my Branch, there's someone I think that you guys should meet…" Nate muttered, looking a little nervous, Ruby, Yang and Grif looked at the youngest sibling curiously, and Cinder suddenly popped up from behind the coach.

"I'm awake!" the pyromancer exclaimed frantically, her siblings stared at her for a few seconds.

"… Why were you behind the coach?" Ruby questioned.

"She came home drunk last night and collapsed there," Grif interjected bluntly, Cinder growled while Yang burst into a fit of laughter.

"We won't tell mom and dad…" Ruby muttered to Cinder, apologetically. "Well… Nate's mom and dad, whom are our mom and dad this Loop…"

"I get it Ruby," Cinder grunted, rubbing her head tiredly.

"How did you even end up getting that drunk?" Nate asked blankly.

"Blame Qrow!" Cinder snapped, no further questions on the matter were asked…

"… Anyway, as I was saying. There is someone, very important, for you all to meet," the local Anchor let out a deep breath. "You all remember how I found out that Hanahojin, or Snottle, was kind of… my son?"

"Yeah…" Yang nodded, sharing a few unsure looks with her siblings (except for Cinder, whom was too focused on nursing her hangover.)

"Well, I decided I wanted to be a better father to him, so I went out of my way to do just that for a bit… and, now he's sort of… Looping,"

"… Say what now?" Yang blinked.

"Snottle, you can come in!" Nate called to the front door, and a short, sort-of-humanoid yo-kai waddled in, his fingers shoved up his nose and looking up at the various Loopers curiously. "These are your aunts and uncle that I was telling you about…"

"… Um, hello," Snottle greeted a bit nervously, Nate's siblings just stared blankly for a few seconds…

"Oh… Yggdrasil. I'm an aunty!" Ruby suddenly cheered, rushing over to Snottle in the blink of an eye and pulling him into a hug. "I'm so happy to meet you my little booger-nephew! You ever need anything, just come to me! Do you like cookies? Or weapons!? Oh, this is so exciting!" Ruby cheered.

"P-please put me down," Snottle begged as he was shaken around by his newly acquainted aunt.

"Well… this certainly adds more to our little family," Yang chuckled, moving over to look at Snottle after Ruby had put him down. "But… you don't intend to keep your fingers up your nose during my wedding, do you?"

"… Wedding?" Snottle questioned blankly, nervously removing his fingers from his nose.

"Ah! I knew I forgot to mention something to him!" Nate shook his head, Yang laughed a bit.

"This isn't any weirder than how Tucker had a kid, so, all-in-all, I have no comment," Grif muttered.

"I think a booger gaining sentience is a bit stranger than an alien parasite…" Yang added, Grif just shrugged before going back to eating. Cinder rubbed her head, glancing between everyone in the room.

"I can't deal with this right now," she groaned, before collapsing, her assorted family members looked at her in concern…

"… And thus, Cinder Falls," Grif commented, Yang's eye twitched, before she swatted her older brother's head. "Hey!"

"No! Bad!"

"… I like them," Snottle said to his father, whom let out a small laugh and patted his head.

 **7.18**

"And the winner, of the 'Animal of the Year' competition is…" the announcer started, Nom Nom smirked as he stood on stage, with both his Baseline, and Looping experience, nobody else had even stood a chance… "Akamaru the cat!"

"Thank yo–WHAT!?" the koala cried out in shock and outrage.

"Nya!" a red and white cat happily exclaimed, running onto the stage and taking the trophy, before turning to the audience and speaking into the microphone. "I'd like to thank my owner Emi, my good friend Keita, my business manager Whisper… oh, and all my fans! Nya!" the crowd cheered as the small cat waved, Nom Nom was left speechless.

"Who the heck is Akamaru!?" he shouted angrily, as he started to throw a tantrum, Akamaru (AKA Jibanyan) sneakily snickered.

 **7.19 Boohoooo!**

"I hate everything." Dastardly deadpanned the moment his new boss' video feed ended.

Muttley grunted in agreement with a "Razzum Frazzum rew ross..."

"Let's just get this over with. Thankfully, this particular part of our adventures only lasted for one race." Dastardly mumbled.

"I still don't know what'cha need me for, yo!" Irwin complained.

"You're going to be bait." Dastardly shrugged, driving off to set up a trap.

"That's wiggity, wiggity whack yo." Irwin muttered.

"Quit complaining! I'm the car!" Jinmenken's voice whined from the Mean Machine.

"That's NEVER gonna stop being creepy..." Dastardly murmured.

Suddenly, singing was heard.

"OH CRAP! DRIVEEEEEEE!" Irwin screamed.

"Why?" Dastardly asked in confusion.

"LEEDLE LEEDLE LEEDLE LEEDLE!" Billy exclaimed, showing up with electricity flowing through him. He promptly touched the Mean Machine.

One explosion later...

"Like I said, I hate everything." Dastardly deadpanned, floating through space in a damaged Mean Machine with Irwin, Muttley and Piper Perfect.

"How did this even happen?!" Piper whined.

"Painnn..." Jinmenken sobbed.

"If you're a car, how do you feel pain, yo?" Irwin asked. The Mean Machine promptly sprayed the nerd with water.

 **7.20**

Sienna Khan briskly walked into her throne room, Adam would be arriving shortly and she was looking forward to giving him a piece of her mind for–

"What the…?" the leader of the White Fang halted in her movement when she saw whom was sitting in her throne…

"You know, I see what Ruby and Zwei meant. This throne is pretty cool," spoke the child, the _human_ child! To the red and white cat, he had sitting in his lap. "You agree, don't you Rudy?"

"Meow!"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" Sienna shouted in outrage, the guards stationed around the room stiffened and looked her way, she looked over them with a mixture of rage and confusion. "How did that child get in here!?" at this, the guards started looking around in confusion, before their looks turned to shock when they spotted the kid on the throne.

"Wha…?" one of the guards started, but Sienna motioned for him to be silent.

"Oh, hi your majesty!" the kid waved with a cheerful smile. "My name is Nate! And this is Rudy!"

"Meow!"

"We were just talking about how your throne– "

"Why are you here… _how_ are you here!?" The leader of the White Fang hissed with a harsh glare.

"I walked in…" Nate answered simply.

"You… _walked_ in!?"

"Yup, nobody stopped me, it was almost like I was invisible," Nate gave a playful smile, Sienna's eye twitched.

"… Out! Everyone out!" she shouted angrily, glaring at her guards. "You are _all_ fired!" she then turned her focus to the kid on her throne. "And you are lucky you are so young, or I might do something worse than just sending you away!"

"Both of those things suit me just fine," Nate shrugged, getting up from the throne. "Let's go Rudy."

"Nyoew!" the cat happily followed along, Nate moved towards the exit with the White Fang leader watching him carefully, however he stopped before reaching the exit and turned to face the authority figure.

"Oh yeah, there's one more thing I think you should know about…"

"What?" the tiger faunus questioned flatly. Nate zoomed over to one of the leaving guards and snatched something from him.

"… Huh?" the guard muttered, reaching for where the item was stolen from confusedly. Nate zoomed back over to the White Fang leader and handed her the scroll.

"You might want to take a look at this, particularly the part where, and I quote; 'Adam Taurus replaces Sienna Khan as high-leader of the White Fang.'"

Sienna glared at the child skeptically, but sure enough, when she did look through the files on the scroll, she found exactly that. Sienna's glare hardened as she turned her focus back to the guards, whom seemed to want to get out of the room faster now…

* * *

"Adam… you're late," Sienna hissed, Adam paused at how much hate was in her tone, already subtly reaching for his blade.

"My apologies, I was…" the masked man trailed off as he noticed two things in the room; the distinct lack of guards… and an out of place kid and cat… "What is… that _thing_ doing here?" the faunus man questioned, his voice filled with revulsion.

Nate and Rudy glanced at each other, apparently not sure which of them he was referring to…

"That is none of your concern Adam," Sienna interjected harshly. "What is of your concern, is your plan to kill and replace me!" at this, Adam stiffened. "That's right, I know all about it! I knew you had fallen far, but not this far! Do you have anything to say for yourself before I have you executed!?" silence fell upon the room, before Adam wordlessly pulled out his blade and made a charge for the high-leader.

"Nope!" Nate zoomed over to Adam's side, grabbing his arm before he could stab Sienna, giving her the moment she needed to move out of the way. "Not happening bust– "

Nate's words were cut off when the bull faunus sent his sword straight through his chest. The eleven-year-old boy stared up at his killer with a look of abject horror, and Adam smirked as the life left his body and he fell to the ground.

"Nyeow!" Rudy cried out, rushing over to the boy, Sienna could only stare.

"You… killed a child in cold blood…" there were many factors to Sienna's tone; shock, rage, disappointment, sorrow… Adam didn't even flinch.

"Child…? No, Sienna, all I did here was rightly exterminate some vermin…" Adam spoke coldly, before holding the blade and preparing to charge her again, Sienna Khan's eyes narrowed as she readied her own weapon, she was ready to fight to avenge the young life that had just been extinguished before her eyes, and defend her own.

Or she would have fought, had the blue glow emitting from Nate's body, and the sounds of echoing moaning didn't draw both of their attention. Suddenly, a plume of blue smoke burst from the fallen child, and lunged towards Adam. Before he could react, the spectral entity snatched his sword right out of his hands!

"Yoink!" Nate's voice echoed from the cloud, though shocked, Sienna took advantage of Adam's baffled state and sent a blade of her own straight through his body. The traitor gasped as he fell, desperately reaching for his blade that was being dangled just out of reach, in some futile attempt to take Sienna with him in his demise, before falling to the ground, dead and defeated.

The high-leader of the White Fang took a few deep breaths, she watched as the blue smoke converged on the child's body, funneling into the sword wound on his chest, somehow sealing it after the last of the smoke had entered.

Nate pulled himself back up, stretching a little, before picking Rudy up and turning to the stunned Sienna.

"Man, dying is never fun," he shook his head, glancing towards Adam's body, nodding. "Well… glad to be of service, your highness," he nodded before moving towards the exit.

"Who are you… really?" at the high-leader's questioned, Nate stopped. He glanced back at her with a smile.

"I am but a humble visitor to this world, whom has close ties to its agent of order… that is all," he explained ambiguously, before leaving. Sienna remained in the room, both baffled by what had happened, but relieved that Adam's plans for the White Fang would go no further…


	9. Loops still going, Family still growing

**8.1**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

Lie Ren Awoke to find himself staring out at a town from the top of a school building. He looked down, he was shorter than normal, he had some sort of moving scarf around his neck…

He checked his Loop memories and found that he was in the home Loop of Ruby and Yang's adoptive younger brother, he was a yo-kai that went by the name of Venoct… And he was on the hunt for a monstrous nekomata, by the name of Rubeus J…

The boy shuddered a bit when he looked at the Loop memories that told him why he was after this other yo-kai. It seems that he used to be a human boy, living in a village. But Rubeus J had attacked, burnt the whole village to the ground… nobody had survived, not even him.

The similarities to his own Baseline childhood were not lost on him, though Venoct's sheer desire for revenge was one thing he was surprised by, wanting revenge so much that you pursue it even after death…

He shook his head and stood firm.

"This Rubeus J can't be allowed to roam free, he is clearly very dangerous… and I don't really have much else to do here," he sighed while tapping his dragon scarf. "But where to start…" his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of school bell ringing, signifying its end, and among the students he spotted several that he recognized, "Perhaps I should ask them."

* * *

"So, now that school's out, what exactly should we do?" Katie questioned as she walked with Nate and Inaho, followed by several of their non-Looping friends; Eddie, Bear, Sarah, Alex, Crystal, and Jessica.

Unknown to their human friends, they also had some Looping yo-kai companionship in Whisper, Jibanyan and USApyon. Kyubi was also there in his human disguise, making the group rather large.

"I don't know, it's been a little while since we all just… hung out, right?" Nate shrugged.

"Perhaps some of you lovely ladies would like to accompany me to a café?" Kyubi suggested with a flip of his hair. A few of the (non-Looping) girls blushed a little, but the thought was halted when Katie grabbed hold of the disguised yo-kai's ear and pulled him over to her.

"Calm down, you devious fox, we're all together, and we're going to do something together, and no seducing my friends," Katie hissed, Kyubi nodded stiffly and a cheerful smile came to the Looping girl's face. "Good!"

"… Nate, how exactly do you know that guy again?" Bear asked in confusion while looking at Kyubi.

"Yeah, I don't think he goes to our school… but on the other hand they do," he gestured to Inaho, Jessica and Crystal. "And I've never seen them, so…"

"No, he doesn't… He's a friend of Katie, Inaho and I, and we thought it would be nice to invite him," Nate shrugged. Well, he wasn't exactly lying…

"Look, we're all missing the big picture here," Inaho suddenly stepped forward, a determined look on her face. "If we're all to do something together, it should be something grand! A grand adventure! Yes!"

"Okay, now you need to calm down," Nate sighed at Inaho's behavior.

"I agree with the average kid," Jessica sighed, Nate's eyes narrowed at her.

"I have a name you know…"

"Come on Nate, you only introduced yourself to Inaho's friends this Loop a few days ago, you can't expect them to remember your name immediately," Whisper shrugged as he floated by the Anchor's side, Nate gave him a side glare.

"No excuse, I remembered his name when I hadn't even met him yet! Dani!" USApyon said firmly.

"I actually think an adventure sounds pretty cool," Alex said with an eager smile on her face.

"Where exactly could we have an adventure in ol' Springdale?" Nate asked with skepticism, of course he himself knew a few ways to do just that, but he didn't feel like revealing that to his non-Looping friends right now.

"Excuse me?" The sudden voice caused all parties to look up, the yo-kai and Looping humans were only briefly surprised by the appearance of the dragon scarf-wielding yo-kai. Though the other humans were either shocked or just confused.

"Venoct, now?" Nate muttered with a blink.

"Is that a floating kid in some kind of ninja costume...?" Bear asked blankly, Nate briefly nodded, before realizing what he meant.

"Wait, you can see him!?"

"Why wouldn't we be able to see him?" Eddie questioned suspiciously. "… Also, what is…. Um, him?" Venoct landed before the crowed of children and yo-kai, before looking towards Nate.

"Um, hello there. Are you feeling a little Loopy perhaps?"

"I'm rather Loopy, but still pretty Anchored," Nate answered almost automatically, he ignored the strange looks he got from the non-Loopers before stepping forward, "Excuse us for a moment."

He took 'Venoct' a few feet away and looked him over.

"… Venoct?"

"No, Ren, Lie Ren," The dragon-themed yo-kai said calmly.

"Lie Ren? As in Lie Ren from Remnant Lie Ren?" Nate questioned, Ren sweatdropped.

"What other Lie Ren do you know?"

"I'm just a little surprised to see you is all… are Ruby or Yang here?" Nate asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"Not that I know of, sorry," Ren shook his head and Nate sighed.

"Too bad… Oh wait, you wanted something?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to help me take down Rubeus J?"

"Take down Rubeus J?" Nate blinked and looked like he was thinking about it, he glanced back to his friends that were waiting and a smirk formed on his face. "Question, can we make it fun?"

"I don't see any reason not to," Ren hid his own smirk under his dragon-scarf. "Did you have something in mind?"

"Just give me a minute, we wanted something fun to do with our friends… I think this can become our adventure," Nate said as he started walking back over to the others. Ren's eyes narrowed a little when he looked at one member of the group.

"Is that the playboy fox over there?"

"Oh yeah… Forgot about that," Nate groaned, recalling the history Kyubi had with the Remnant Loopers, before shrugging and continuing. "We'll deal with that in a moment…"

* * *

"What's with that guy? What are they talking about?" Bear questioned as he watched Nate and Ren.

"Nate seems to know him, I wonder how," Eddie muttered curiously.

"Yeah… how?" Katie sweatdropped as she tried to look away.

"What are you doing?" Whisper asked Katie blankly.

"I don't want to try and explain anything," the Looping girl whispered to the ghost, her eyes narrowed.

"Okay guys, I've got a lot of stuff to explain to you!" Nate announced as he came back over, Ren hovering behind him calmly. Katie blinked in confusion.

"Looks like he beat you to it," Jibanyan said in a disinterested tone, taking a bite out of a chocobar.

"What's the plan, what are we doing?" Inaho asked excitedly.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have an adventure after all," Nate said, a smirk on his face.

"Woo!" Inaho cheered, throwing her hands into the air.

"Way to go Nate!" Alex exclaimed, a fist extended outward in victory.

"Okay, seriously. What is going on, Inaho?" Crystal questioned her excited friend, but she didn't seem interested in answering.

"I would very much like to know what is going on as well," Eddie interjected, a confused look on his face.

"Everybody calm down!" Ren held up his hand and all attention turned to him.

"Thanks, Ren," Nate nodded before looking towards his friends. "As I said, this here's a friend of mine. And with his help we'll all be going on a grand adventure… But first, there are a few things that need to be made clear to a few people here. Guys, I'm just putting it all out, you should make yourselves visible!" at this exclamation, the non-Looping kids looked confused, Inaho retained her excitement, Katie crossed her arms with an unsure expression, and Kyubi seemed disinterested.

To say the there was some surprise when a trio of strange creatures appeared out of nowhere, would be a bit of an understatement.

* * *

"Yo-kai, seriously!?" Eddie questioned in disbelief at the explanation they had been given.

"The proof's right in front of you Eddie, you're interested in the facts. Well here they are," Katie shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sorry for the abrupt appearance, but Nate here clearly has a plan," Whisper said as he hovered by his master/friend's side.

"I'm very confused," Sarah said, looking between Jibanyan and USApyon.

"Ditto," Alex and Bear both said in unison.

"No need to stare, dani," USApyon sweatdropped at the attention, Jibanyan just ate another chocobar.

"Inaho! What is going on!?" Crystal exclaimed, a little loudly. Inaho winced slightly.

"Tone it down, Crystal. Nate's still explaining," the purple haired girl insisted, trying to calm her friend down.

"This is so confusing…" Jessica muttered.

"If any of you ladies need some comfort, I'm available, just ask," Kyubi said in a charming manner, Ren glared at him slightly and Katie groaned.

"Okay, enough Kyubi. If we're doing this then we should be open about you too," the Looping girl said blandly, Kyubi blinked, before smiling a little nervously.

"What, why Katie I have no idea what you– "

Katie hit Kyubi over the head, and in a puff of smoke the human boy was replaced with a nine-tailed fox creature. The non-Looping kids gasped in surprise.

"Bravo! An amazing trick!" Inaho clapped her hands, USApyon glared at her in annoyance.

"You knew who he was the whole time! Dani!"

"Katie, why did you do that!?" Kyubi questioned seriously.

"Look, if we're doing this, we're doing this. Guys, my friend Kyubi is a yo-kai," Katie looked the confused classmates for a second. "A nine-tailed fox spirit to be exact… a kyūbi no kitsune."

"… I did think that was an odd name actually," Eddie admitted after a moment.

"I thought his name was 'Kiwi'!?" Bear exclaimed in confusion, a tick mark formed on the fox yo-kai's head as he growled a little.

"Seriously!? That again!? What's so hard about the name 'Kyubi'!?" the fox yo-kai exclaimed angrily, Ren crossed his arms as he glared at him and hovered over.

"Kyubi, correct?"

"Yes! That's what I was saying– "the S rank yo-kai froze up a bit when he saw the cold look Venoct's replacement was giving him. "Oh… You're from Remnant, aren't you?"

"Lie Ren, you're the fox that tried to romance all my female friends, including my mother and sister…"

"… Didn't you already punish me over that? Along with your dad and those other guys?" Kyubi questioned, backing up a bit, his eyes narrowed.

"Ren, calm down. He's my friend," Nate said, the (currently) Slippery tribe yo-kai looked down at the Anchor and grunted before backing up a bit.

"I'm not fond of that fox," he growled, his dragon-scarf hiding his expression, other than his scolding eyes.

"Well, could you keep the hostility low at least? He's not _that_ bad, you got the wrong impression of him," Nate pleaded with the visiting Looper, whom gave him a skeptical glare in return, "… Okay, so he kind of is that bad, but please!"

"… Fine."

"Thank you, Ren!"

"What are you guys going on about?" Alex asked, crossing her arms.

"It's rude to intrude on others personal matters, you know," Whisper popped up behind the girl, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Kind of hard to keep it personal when they're talking right in front of all of us," Inaho pointed out with a shrug, USApyon groaned.

"It doesn't matter, I won't drag the rest of you into my little… dispute with that fox," Ren stated calmly, though he still glared at Kyubi.

"Dispute? If he's going to get all passive-aggressive on me for this entire Loop, I swear I am not putting up with it," Kyubi growled quietly, so only he and Katie could hear.

"He has every right to be angry at you after your previous actions," Katie whispered, the fox yo-kai let out a dismissive snort, Katie glared at him, "Look, he's willing to put in an effort _not_ to attack you, So, I expect you to put in some effort as well."

"You're not the boss of me," Kyubi huffed indignantly.

"I am if you want to keep getting your ears scratched!" the irritated girl snapped, Kyubi's ears drooped a little as his eyes widened, before he sighed in defeat.

"Okay, fine…" after the fox spirit's admission, he and Katie noticed how the others were staring at them, "… What the heck are you all looking at!?" they all immediately looked away, Katie let out a small chuckle as her fox companion grumbled. "I can tell this is gonna be a fun Loop…

 **8.2 KaiserRichard**

"ARRRRRGH!" a certain purple-haired looper yelled in angrish "First me not able to get Space Pier powers and now my name being changed MID-LOOP?!"

The certainly named Nate and Miifu simply smirked at the newly named Hailey, "That's what you get for bugging US about changing names every loop!"

"Why couldn't I be like USApyon and not have my name changed?!" Banging her head against a wall.

"Could we hurry this up? I got a thing to do at three..." A sweatdropping Hinozall said waiting to battle.

 **8.3**

"So, anybody know why Keita called us all here?" Fumi questioned, standing in front of the Amano house along with all of the other Loopers, aside from Jibanyan, Whisper and Hikikōmori. Everyone was Awake this Loop.

"Maybe he's having a party, zura," Komasan suggested with an innocent smile.

"Maybe he wants to discuss what the next expansion could be like? Dani," USApyon scratched his head in thought.

"Oh! I bet he wants us all to make a super hero team!" Inaho concluded with an eager smile, the others looked at her blankly, except for Guts K.

"That sounds like a great idea!" the small, shadowy yo-kai exclaimed, striking his signature pose. "Guts!"

"Yeah! Guts!" Inaho mimicked him, Fumi sweatdropped at this behavior, before turning to Kyubi and Ningyo. "What do you guys think?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," Ningyo grunted with an annoyed huff.

"Come on, babe. It could be something exciting," Kyubi said smoothly, looking at Ningyo with a smirk, the aquatic yo-kai glared at the nine-tailed fox, before abruptly slapping him with her tail. "Ow!"

"Call me 'babe' again, and see how painful it can get," she huffed while crossing her arms.

"Whatever dad wants, I'm sure it's really important!" Hanahojin insisted with a confidant nod, still keeping his fingers in his nose.

"… Well I'll just ring the doorbell," Fumi muttered, an unsure expression on her face, but before she could, the door suddenly opened.

"Hey everyone, come in! Come in!" the smiling Keita greeted, motioning for them to enter his home.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Jinmenken muttered.

"Do you ever _not_ have a bad feeling about something?" Kyubi questioned, floating into the house, the human-faced dog paused with a thoughtful look.

"… Come on," Ningyo grunted, grabbing hold of Jinmenken's tail and dragging him inside.

"I am very excited for what lies ahead," Guts K grinned, Inaho nodded in agreement.

* * *

After the group made it to the Anchor's room, they found themselves standing before the closet, Whisper and Jibanyan beside them.

"Um, guys, what's this about?" Fumi asked the two resident yo-kai questioningly.

"What's dad planning?" Hanahojin interjected curiously.

"Don't knyow, but when Keita found out everyone was Awake he got all excited, nya," Jibanyan explained with a shrug.

"I can't even fathom what he might be planning, wissu," Whisper added, looking a little nervous.

"Guts! Guts! Guts! Yeah!" Inaho and Guts K exclaimed as they repeatedly struck heroic poses, USApyon growled in annoyance at this.

"Welcome!" Keita exclaimed, bursting from the closet, halting any shenanigans from beginning.

"Keita, what gives? Why did you call us all here? Don't you know I have ladies to woo?" The Looping fox yo-kai stated with an annoyed glare.

"Trust us, he's doing them a favor keeping you here," Ningyo glared at Kyubi, whom shot a glare back at her.

"Oh! Is the party in the closet? Zura," Komasan asked in a cheerful manner.

"Bro, I don't think there is a party…" Komajiro sweatdropped. Keita chuckled a bit.

"Really Keita, why call us here?" Fumi questioned, feeling a little impatient from all the mystery of this meeting, and all the reactions of the other Loopers weren't helping…

"Don't worry my friends, all will be revealed in just a moment," Keita stated with an eager smirk, before turning to the inside of the closet. "Everything ready, Hiki?... Great!"

"Why is Hikikōmori involved, while we're not? Wissu," Whisper asked Jibanyan with an offended expression, the small nekomata shrugged uncaringly, shoving a chocolate bar into his mouth.

"Step inside and prepare to be amazed!" Keita exclaimed, sounding very excited. The other Loopers warily stepped forward and into the closet.

"I _still_ have a bad feeling about this!" Jinmenken insisted as they moved forward.

* * *

"Where are we? This doesn't look like the closet, nya," Jibanyan pointed out, the group having seemingly just appeared in a void of darkness.

"Everyone, over here!" Keita called out, the group finding him, along with Hikikōmori, standing by an illuminated, metallic door.

"This is cool, like an episode of the Twilight Zone, have we Looped into the Twilight Zone?" Inaho questioned USApyon as they walked through the void.

"I don't know! Don't ask me stupid questions! Dani!" USApyon snapped out of annoyance, Inaho seemed unbothered by her friend's attitude and just chuckled with contained excitement.

"Keita-kun, what is this?" Fumi asked, furrowing a brow in confusion.

"Step inside and have a look," Keita said in his calm, yet eager tone, opening the door and leading the group into some sort of storehouse; filled to the brim with all sorts of weapons, armors, or other machines.

The Loopers looked around in both surprise and amazement at the assorted items that were visible on the walls and few tables there were, some items seemed either incomplete or in-disrepair, while others looked to be in perfect condition. But every item seemed to have one or more slots for yo-kai medals implemented into them in some way.

"W-what even is this!?" Ningyo questioned, shocked at the enormous number of weapons the Anchored had stored in… wherever this place was. "Why did you bring us here!?"

"So many things…" Hanahojin seemed mesmerized.

"Simple, my friends. This here storage house is in my sub-space pocket! I've been working on all these modified weapons and other items for many Loops, with Hikikōmori-chan's help. And in the process, I made a little something for each of you!" Keita explained, looking quite proud.

"Something for us, like what? Nya," Jibanyan questioned, tilting his head.

"When exactly did we enter your pocket?" Kyubi asked, hovering a bit as he stared at the Anchor.

"When you entered the closet," Hikikōmori answered simply. Keita stepped over to Jibanyan, nodding to the bat yo-kai as he did, before turning to the cat one.

"I knew something was wrong here! I knew it!" Jinmenken exclaimed frantically.

"Oh, calm down, it's not like you're trapped here," Keita patted at the nervous human-dog-yo-kai on the head before turning to his nekomata companion, "Let's start with yours, Akamaru. Can you become Robonyan first?"

"Oh, sure. Regular, or Type-F?" Jibanyan asked, scratching his ear.

"Either will do," Keita shrugged, Jibanyan nodded before his body flashed and he was replaced with Robonyan.

"Robonyan!"

"Is it necessary to shout that every time you transform? Dani," USApyon questioned plainly.

"… Yes!"

"Great, hold on!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed before he started rummaging through the devices in the room.

"Oh! This is so exciting!" Inaho said eagerly as she moved around in an animated fashion.

"I'm not sure what to think about this…" Ningyo sighed.

"I'm sure Keita knows what he's doing, he's got a good head on his shoulders!" Guts K stated with a proud smirk, "He gets that from me."

"Well now I just have a general uneasy feeling!" the mermaid-like yo-kai growled.

"Ah, here we go!" Keita exclaimed, holding some sort of jetpack, he moved to place it on Robonyan, it seemed to go over his regular jetpack like a casing, the Anchor strapped it on with a belt attachment, which appeared to have a slot for a yo-kai medal on the buckle.

"A jetpack? But I can already fly in this form, Keita," Robonyan pointed out plainly.

"But this isn't a jetpack, Akamaru," Keita grinned widely, "It's a jetpack-enhancement!"

"Enhancement?" the (currently)mechanical nekomata tilted his head questioningly.

"Yeah, if you insert a yo-kai medal in that belt-buckle, it will improve your jetpacks abilities, like say, using an atsugaruru medal will give it a super rocket-boost! Or, some medals might give it utilities beyond just flying, though you may need to experiment a little," Keita explained cheerfully, Robonyan pulled the jetpack-enhancement from his back and looked at it, before storing it in his sub-space pocket and reverting to Jibanyan.

"Thanks Keita, I'll try it out later! Nya," the cat yo-kai nodded.

"Oh! Oh! Me next! Me next!" Inaho rushed forward, jumping up and down in excitement, getting a few annoyed looks from the others.

"Fine, Inaho, you can be next," Keita shrugged, before he moved to find whatever device he had made for Inaho.

"What is it!? What is it!?" Inaho jumped around a bit more, before Keita revealed what looked like a wand with a yo-kai medal slot on the top.

"This wand will allow you to use the attacks of yo-kai, depending on the medal you put in," Keita explained, handing her the wand, Inaho stared at it blankly, "I wanted to make you a device that would make you a magical girl… but I really couldn't figure that one out, sorry Inaho, my expertise is in tech and yo-kai energy, not magic."

Inaho kept staring at the wand for a few more moments, before she broke into a huge grin and jumped with glee.

"COOL!" she waved it around excitedly, "It may not be a way to become a magical girl, but now I can cast spells!"

"Use yo-kai attacks," Keita pointed out, Inaho shrugged the comment off.

"Same difference! Thanks, this is awesome! Seriously, I'd tell you I love 'ya Keita, but Fumi's right there!" Inaho cheered as she examined her new weapon. Fumi glared at the other girl

"Wait a minute, what's that supposed to– "

"And let's move on to the next gift, shall we," Keita interrupted with a fake cough, bringing attention back to him, "Fumi-chan, I think you'll like this?" at this, Fumika's expression brightened.

"You have something for me, Keita?"

"He said he had something for _all_ of us," Kyubi pointed out bluntly, though the glare Fumika sent him shut him up.

"As I was saying…" the Anchor spoke up again, looking towards Fumika, "Check this out," the Looping girl grasped the object her friend had handed her.

"A watch-cover?" she looked it over, it seemed to be a plastic-looking cover that would fit snugly over her yo-kai watch-pendant, primarily pink in color, with several multi-colored gem-stones circling the opening for the watch's face, "Knowing you… there's more to this, isn't there?"

"Yup," Keita smirked proudly, tapping the watch-cover, "This is another type of enhancement, this watch-cover will enable your yo-kai watch-pendant to use any yo-kai medal we've encountered in Baseline," Keita took the cover and slipped it over Fumi's yo-kai watch, she did not object, "I know you already have all of the yo-kai watch models we know of, barring the black yo-kai watch, but this way you won't have to switch them out."

"Huh, thanks Keita-kun, that's really nice," Fumika smiled kindly, a gesture that Keita returned.

"… Oh yeah, also, the gems can shoot lasers," he quickly added, Fumika rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Of course, they can, I'll try that later," they exchanged a hug for a moment… which started to last for several minutes…

"… Excuse me," Whisper spoke up, Keita and Fumika blinked, looking towards the yo-kai butler, "I hate to interrupt the moment, but don't you have more to show, Keita-kun? Whiss…" Keita and Fumika stared at Whisper silently for a moment, before realizing what he meant and separating, both going a little red in the face.

"So, uh, yeah, thanks," Fumi took a step back, waving her hands.

"Y-yeah, you're welcome," Keita bowed, stiffly moving back to look through his other inventions, Inaho chuckled under her breath at the scene. "Right, right, now, who's next?"

"Do you perhaps have anything for me, Keita-kun? Whiss," Whisper questioned as he hovered over with a smile, Keita nodded, digging through the pile of random devices again until he pulled out a small, radar-looking device.

"Here, attach this to your yo-kai pad!" the Anchor suggested plainly, handing his ghostly-butler the device. Whisper stared at the small machine in confusion for a moment, before pulling out his current yo-kai pad, plugging the device into the correct port.

"… What exactly does this do? Whiss."

"Congratulations Whisper, you now not only have access to all currently known information on our Baseline yo-kai, but most variants we have encountered, yo-kai that exist in other Branches, as well as most any other creature you could think to ask about," Keita explained proudly, "I even uploaded all the known pokédex entries, though I'd take those with a grain of salt."

"… I'm not really following, Keita-kun, what did you just give me? Whiss," the ghost asked, sifting through all the new information that was now available to him.

"I've been keeping track of things for a while Whisper, though I admittedly missed a few things, especially since I didn't start recording as _soon_ as I started Looping, but I figured keeping notes on all the things Yggdrasil has to offer would be helpful, and who better to have access to all that information when we need it?"

"Well… I'm touched you place that level of trust in me, Keita-kun, whiss…" Whisper gave a bow, looking at his yo-kai pad once more, before coughing and taking a more dignified pose, "But you do realize that most of the yo-kai information is superfluous, as my brain is as good a yo-kai encyclopedia as we need."

"I know Whisper, I know," Keita hid his laugh at Whisper's typical act, before the yo-kai butler took on a humbler pose again.

"Still… thank you all the same, at the least all this other info you have given me will be useful, whiss…"

"I thought you might say that."

"Okay! USApyon next!" Inaho suddenly exclaimed, pointing to an irritated otter yo-kai.

"Don't volunteer me, I can speak for myself, dani!"

"Well, do you want what I have for you or not?" Keita questioned plainly, USApyon grumbled to himself before nodding.

"Yes, I want it… dani."

"Okay, well then I'll get it," the Anchor smiled, pulling a lightsaber from the pile, though it had a slot for a yo-kai medal on it.

"Well, I think I can figure out what this thing does, dani," the otter yo-kai chuckled as he looked the device over, "I'll probably stick to my standard lightsaber most of the time, but cool gift, I'll need to test it out sometime, dani."

"Good to know you like it," Keita nodded, before grinning and looking through the pile again, "And who do we have someone for next, could it be… Hanahojin?"

"Dad? You have something for me?" Hanahojin waddled over to his father excitedly, whom smiled down at him and nodded.

"Of course, how could I forget about my little snot-son!" he held up some kind of backpack before placing it on Hanahojin, a pair of robotic arms emerged from it to the nose-picking yo-kai's amazement.

"Wow!"

"Yeah, I still want you to stop picking your nose all the time," Keita explained with a firm look, Hanahojin looked down a little, seeing as his fingers _were_ still up his nose, "But… I know how yo-kai are, and with this you can at least use your hands more…"

"Thank you dad! And I will try to pick my nose less, I promise," Hanahojin bowed seriously, Keita nodded.

"As for you grandpa!" Guts K looked over at that, Keita continued, "I made you this morpher from Super Sentai and Power Rangers tech, it should change you into a sentai-like hero based on the yo-kai medal you insert into it," Keita handed his grandfather a wristwatch-like device.

"That sounds awesome! Great gift, Keita! Guts!" the small yo-kai posed, Keita shook his head with a small smile.

"Hey! If you could do that, why couldn't you make me something that makes me a magical girl!?" Inaho suddenly interjected loudly, Keita sighed.

"I told you, I couldn't figure that out, I barely altered the super-sentai morpher for grandpa, it still makes a body-suit, I haven't had much opportunity to study magical-girl stuff."

"Dangit," Inaho sighed, before going back to looking at her weapon, Keita shook his head before focusing on Ningyo, who had her arms crossed.

"I doubt you have anything that would interest me," the mermaid-like yo-kai huffed, the Anchor shrugged.

"Maybe I don't, but I can still try…" he handed her what looked like a crystalline-blue yo-kai watch, she took it with a confused expression.

"… A yo-kai watch?"

"No, actually it's a device that changes your attributes depending on the medal you insert, while you wear it," Keita explained, "Like if you used Jibanyan's medal, you would gain fire and cat attributes."

"Nya?" Jibayan tilted his head, Ningyo stared at the device plainly.

"Well… I suppose it could be useful, but couldn't you have made something to stop whatever weird force causes you to catch me whenever you go fishing?" she asked bluntly.

"I would've, but I have no idea how that even works," Keita shrugged, Ningyo groaned.

"… Well, thanks I guess," she relented with a nod.

"Now, Komasan, Komajiro," the two yo-kai looked over as they were called, Keita smiled, "You guys like to do a lot of sight-seeing, right?"

"Well, we have been taking a bit of a liking towards visiting different places since we started Looping, zura," Komajiro nodded, looking towards his brother.

"Yeah! There are so many cool places to see! Zura!"

"Thought so," Keita nodded at the two brothers, "I'll show you two to the airship I made for you guys afterwards," at this, the koma brothers' eyes widened.

"You made us an airship!? Zura!" Komasan exclaimed, Komajiro nodded with a look of just as much shock as his brother, the others in the room were also looking at Keita in surprise.

"Er, a small one, don't get your hopes _too_ high, but it will be able to get you around the world pretty quickly," Keita assured, the two komainu nodded, "Now then, Kyubi? Jinmenken? You guys are the last, right?"

"I don't see anyone else here that you haven't already given something to," Kyubi shrugged.

"I fully expected to be last…" Jinmenken muttered, this was ignored.

"I don't think you could have anything I have any interest, though," Kyubi smirked, Keita simply started searching through his things again.

"Let's see… aha!" he handed Jinmenken some kind of a blank card, much to his confusion, "That should stop you from being arrested so much!"

"… I don't understand, what is this?" the man-faced dog asked.

"It's a blank I.D you can put any information you want on," Keita explained kindly, "It's actually like a little computer with touch-controls, you can alter it with a few taps, no police, in our Loop at least, should be able to tell that anything you put is fake, it's not a perfect plan, but it should stop some of the arrests depending on what you put…"

"I'm not entirely sure if this will help, but thanks anyway," Jinmenken nodded, pocketing the I.D.

"Just remember that it's not likely to fool any Loopers, and to be careful with it," Keita stated plainly, Jinmenken nodded again.

"Excuse me!" Kyubi called out, looking annoyed, probably because he was being given something last in favor of Jinmenken, "I'm here too!"

"I didn't forget you, Kyubi," Keita chuckled, "Though, I admit I had a hard time thinking of anything to make for you."

"I suppose that's to be expected," Kyubi rolled his eyes, Keita looked through some of the items before pulling up what looked like a chainsaw, with a sniper built into it… Kyubi's expression was blank, "Um, what _is_ that?"

"An experimental weapon of mine, it can change form so it doesn't have to be a chainsaw, but it always has a sniper rifle," Keita explained, tossing Kyubi the weapon, "Since I can't really think of what to give you, I thought you might like it, sorry that it wasn't made specifically for you, but I'm sure you can find use of it…"

Kyubi looked the weapon over, pressing a button on it and watching as its form shifted from a chainsaw to a long staff, he twirled it a bit before pocketing it.

"Well, with the powers I have I don't really need a weapon, but learning to use one could be a nice skill to add to my arsenal, and with a weapon that can change form that means I could learn many different weapon styles… yes, I think I can work with this," Kyubi smirked a little, Keita smiled.

"Well, I'm glad that each of you enjoyed what I had for you, to some extent at least."

"Hold on, Keita-kun," Fumika spoke up, all looked her way before she gestured towards the little bat yo-kai, silently sitting in the corner, "You forgot Hikikōmori-chan…"

"Actually, he didn't…" Hikikōmori spoke up before the Anchor could respond, "Keita gave me my gift before this happened… I did assist him with some of the others, you know…"

"Oh… well, thank you," Fumika stated, the others nodding a bit, "What did Keita-kun give you?"

"I made her a secluded room to put in her pocket, with a fully functional entertainment system, food replicator, and wi-fi access," Keita interjected, sharing a nod with the bat yo-kai.

"Thank you again, Keita," Hikikōmori bowed.

"You're welcome," Keita smiled, "Now then, shall we see the Komairship?"

"Komairship?" Komajiro questioned blankly, Komasan seemed to like it though, clapping his hands in excitement.

"Oh, you can change the name to whatever you want later," Keita shrugged, leading them deeper into the room, "I did say it was small," Keita pointed out when they made it to the back of the room, in some sort of mini-hanger was a ship that resembled a komainu statue, it was silver and gold, split down the middle, and it was about the size of Keita's bedroom.

"Well, it's decent sized, not too small that it would be uncomfortable, zura," Komajiro shrugged.

"It's amazing! Wowie! I can't wait to try this out, zura!" Komasan ran around the ship with childlike glee, Komajiro let out a bit of a chuckle, Keita gave a thumbs-up.

 **8.4**

 **[Excerpts from RWBY Loops Elevator Saga 2: Maiden Voyage]**

 **Floor 147**

The doors opened to a small space, dimly lit by a laptop computer's screen, the only occupant of which seemed to be a small, bat-like creature.

"EEK!" the creature gave a startled yelp, hiding herself in her blanket-patterned wings.

"Hidabat, it's fine, it's just me," Cinder assured plainly, Hidabat peeked out nervously, "And these two, but don't worry about them."

"What is that thing?" Vernal questioned.

"A yo-kai," Cinder answered, Vernal looked confused.

"A yo-kai?"

"A yo-kai," Raven let out a groan.

"… Um, excuse me?" a small voice interjected, the three women looked to see Hidabat looking at them curiously, "Is that an… elevator glitch?"

"Yes, you've heard of it?" Cinder asked with a raised brow.

"I was told about it before, Nate and the others experienced something like it before… but they were in a tunnel, at least that's what they said…"

"Tunnel?" Cinder shook her head, "Sorry for disturbing you, but tell my brother I said 'hi,' would you?"

"Sure," Hidabat nodded before the doors closed.

 **Floor 201**

"Fuu, Fuu2!" a blue ghost-like creature exclaimed, holding up two fingers, before he noticed the elevator and groaned, "Why can't I stop doing that…?"

"Hey bro," Cinder waved.

"Hey sis," the ghost waved back.

"Hello Nate-Keita-whatever," Raven greeted.

"Hello Auntie Raven," Fuu2 nodded.

"What killed you this time, fall down a manhole again?" Cinder teased, the blue ghost grumbled.

"Is that a ghost? Bro? Sis? Auntie?" Vernal questioned blankly, before sighing and shaking her head, "No, I get it, Loop stuff, I won't question it…"

"Thank you," Fuu2 bowed.

"… Seriously, what killed ya Nate?" Cinder prodded, the yo-kai raised a finger with intent to answer, but the doors closed before he could.

 **8.5**

[DinoZaurs/Yo-kai Watch]

"This tree just won't stop messing with me!" Sabre, who had currently taken the form of the yo-kai Blazion, growled as he followed the local Anchor's lead. He had freed him from some sort of capsule machine called the crank-a-kai, and Sabre apparently had the device that set most of the Baseline events of this world into motion with him; the yo-kai watch.

The kid had been surprised when he had come out of the machine, instead of Whisper, but he had gotten over it quickly and decided to take the time to show him around the Loop.

"Would you relax, Blazion's more about getting people 'fired-up' rather than actual fire, anyway," Nate explained calmly.

"I have a mane of fire!"

"And you're speaking English… or whatever language we're supposed to be speaking…" Nate looked contemplative for a moment, before shaking it off. "Blazion usually just makes a lot of roaring noises… not that he can't talk that is…"

"Fascinating… what are we supposed to be doing anyway?" Sabre questioned blankly.

"Usually this is around the point that we'd meet Jibanyan. He's another fire-cat," Nate explained.

"I've met Jibanyan before," Sabre stated plainly.

"Well then, you should already have a pretty good idea of what he's like," Nate shrugged as they continued.

 **8.6 Black Omochao & Boohoooo!**

Katie sat on her bed, her arms crossed and a frustrated, yet contemplative look on her face.

"… Okay, that's it!" she opened her eyes and exclaimed, Kyubi (whom had Woken up and come to her house) looked at her quizzically. "I'm done…"

"… Done what?" the fox yo-kai questioned, ears twitching a little.

"Done with getting inspirited!" the human girl stated with a firm look. "Why am I always the target!? I'm sick of it!"

"… To be fair, you're not _always_ the target," Kyubi pointed out, but Katie did not seem to be in the mood to listen.

"I swear! No yo-kai is going to make me humiliate myself, act like a jerk, or any other nonsense, for at least the rest of this Loop!" Katie announced with fire in her eyes.

"Katie! Who are you talking to!?" the concerned voice of her mother called from downstairs, Katie and Kyubi both froze.

"… Um, nobody, mom!" Katie called back before letting out a sigh. ' _Note to self; do not loudly announce troubles related to yo-kai within earshot of parents…_ '

* * *

"Tattletell!"

"Oh no you don't!" Katie quickly blocked the attempt to latch onto her by the small, elderly-woman-like yo-kai. "You are not making me say embarrassing stuff about myself, Nate, or anyone else this time!" the mysterious yo-kai was seemed surprised that Katie could see her.

"… Tell, tell! Tell!" with a huff, Tattletell turned and hopped away, Katie crossed her arms and gave a huff of her own.

"Serves you right, she may become a useful friend later, but at the beginning she's an annoying little pest," the Looping girl growled.

"Katie, who are you talking to?" Katie blinked, before looking towards one of her non-Looping friends; Sarah, whom was looking at her with concern.

"Um… myself…" she nearly facepalmed at that pathetic excuse.

"… Yourself?" Sarah questioned with a skeptical look.

"Er… Yeah! Darn you Katie, you annoying pest! Stay focused!" she lightly tapped her head while feigning frustration, Sarah's concern remained, "You see I sometimes get distracted and start daydreaming, lose focus, all that, I was thinking negative reinforcement might help… yeah, that's it!"

"… Negative reinforcement? By scolding and insulting yourself?" the black-haired girl did not look convinced.

"Oh, Sarah!" the pair were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of the Anchor, whom grabbed hold of the non-Looping girl's arm, "I'm glad I caught you!"

"Huh, Nate?" Sarah looked surprised at the sudden interaction, as did many of the other students, including Eddie and Bear, they watched in confusion.

"Yeah, see, I was hoping you could help me with my homework, I was having a lot of trouble with one of the book reports and since you know a lot about books I was hoping you could help me!" Nate spoke quickly, the pink-clad girl barely had time to respond.

"Well, I suppose I could, but we don't really talk much and– "

"Great! Than this is the perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other! To the library!"

"Um… ok, bye Katie… I guess…" Sarah replied in a dumbfounded manner as the boy dragged her away, Nate gave Katie a wink before he left, she gave a smile of thanks in return, before letting out a relieved sigh.

"Did Nate just make a move on Sarah?" Eddie suddenly asked in confusion, at this Katie's smile faded as she twitched a little…

"Huh, that's weird," one of the Katie's other non-Looping friends; Alex, spoke up suddenly, "I always thought Nate liked you, Katie…" the Looping girl stiffened and went red at the blunt comment, before turning and seeing Tattletell attached to her friend's chin, Katie grit her teeth with an eye twitch.

* * *

Katie looked annoyed as Wazzat was about to Inspirit her.

"Don't even think about it!" She glared.

"OK, I won't think I'll do!" Wazzat smiled obliviously, attempting to eat Katie's memories... however, there were SO many memories, Wazzat exploded!

Katie stood there stunned... until Manjimutt showed up and played the Classic 'wah wah wah' sound on a trombone.

"Heyo! Sans taught me to use the Trombone!" He smiled. Katie promptly kicked Manjimutt out of the classroom.

"... Was it something I said?" The Dog Yo-Kai blinked.

 **8.7**

[Yo-kai Watch/We Bare Bears]

" _It was an ordinary day, just like any other day you might expect to find in this sleepy little town, but I had a feeling things were about to take an unexpected turn…"_

"What's going on here!? How are you talking without moving your mouth!? Why is everything black and white!? Dani!" USApyon shouted as he paced around the detective room, Inaho didn't acknowledge him, continuing her weird, inner-outer monologue.

" _I was never a girl who believed in fate, never into fairy tales, but I knew the second he walked through that door, something magical was going to happen."_

"What, who!? Dani!" USApyon questioned, on cue the detective agency's door opened.

"Wow, this is so cool, it's like an old detective movie!" a grizzly bear exclaimed with an eager smile as he stepped in, USApyon stared at him blankly, Haku had been dusting the shelves, and continued to without looking at any of them…

" _He looked to be the strong, silent type, but you know what they say; looks can be deceiving…"_

"… Is she talking about me?" the bear asked USApyon, whom just groaned in annoyance, Inaho just seemed to be staring into space while her monologue continued.

" _He approached me with a simple missing person case, something that should have been no problem for a detective of my caliber, right?"_

"Oh, right!" the grizzly bear exclaimed, having been reminded of why he had come here, he carefully approached the front desk, "So, um my name's Grizz, before we get to this… are you Looping?"

"How blunt, dani," USApyon grunted in the background, Inaho looked straight into Grizz's eyes, and silently nodded.

"Oh, good!" he smiled, before pulling up a photo and sliding it to her, "So, I guess my UnAwake self was looking for Chloe, she's gone missing apparently…" his eyes suddenly widened, "Oh no! Chloe's gone missing! We have to do something!" Inaho looked at the photo with a stoic expression while the bear panicked.

" _A young girl, lost in this wide-open world of ghosts and monsters, truly a terrifying thought to behold, perhaps if I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have taken this job, rather sending that poor bear on his way, heartbroken. But I knew not… and maybe even if I did, I'd have still done it, my duty as a detective, to this town, to the people, is too great…"_

Grizz and USApyon stared blankly at the silent Inaho while her monologue continued, occasionally glancing around to try and pinpoint where Inaho's voice was coming from.

"… So, are you going to help?" Grizz asked, a few moments after the room had gone silent, Inaho stared at him for a good few seconds more, before finally speaking.

"Yeah, I'll find your friend…"

"Oh! Great, so I should probably take you to where my brothers and I last saw her, oh yeah! We should probably get them too!" Grizz exclaimed, quickly nodding, Inaho nodded back and pulled herself up from her chair, moving towards the door, grabbing a coat along the way.

" _There was a cool summer breeze, I remember that distinctly because it was winter, but also because that was to be the beginning of one of the biggest cases of my life…"_

"Is she going to be doing this the whole time?" Grizz asked USApyon as they followed after Inaho.

"Don't ask me anything, I'm just going along with this for now… dani," the otter yo-kai grunted.

* * *

"I think the last time we saw her was around here…" a panda muttered as he, Grizz, Inaho, USApyon and a polar bear looked up at the Mog Mog Burger shop's sign.

"Ice Bear distinctly remembers pastries," the polar bear stated in a monotone.

"No, I'm sure it was burgers," the panda insisted, "Grizz, you remember, don't you?" at this, the grizzly bear shrugged.

" _Burgers, pastries? Decisions upon decisions, alternating paths without any way of knowing the right one. It was truly the most perplexing of situations, how could one tell in this crazy town where exactly one had disappeared. But those are the questions I need to deal with, after all, I've been lost in this town for as long as I can remember…"_

The three bears stared at Inaho as monologue went on, USApyon just seemed to be ignoring everything.

"… Um, was she talking?" the panda asked with a troubled expression.

"There's only one thing to do," Inaho spoke with narrowed eyes, adjusting her glasses slightly, "We need to get answers," she marched up to the door and stepped into the burger shop.

" _Grease, that's the smell that assaulted my senses when I entered that building. Not that I expected much else, what else is there to associate with burger places than grease? Meat? Yeah right… Despite the smell of grease, I had a feeling that there was going to be a lead here, a lead that would put me on the path to the answers I was looking for… but what I didn't know was; I was better off without those answers."_

"Seriously, this is kind of creepy," the panda whispered to the other two bears as they followed the young detective into the restaurant.

"Oh, come on bro, it's like a detective movie, you know?" the brown-furred bear offered with an enthusiastic grin.

"Ice Bear wishes to speak to his agent before taking part in any movie…" the white bear stated in his monotone. Inaho looked around the building, glancing between the various patrons enjoying their food, before settling on a little, white-furred creature, sitting on a table, eating an ice cream cone.

" _Local komainu: Komasan. A simple creature, some would say. There's no way he could be involved with a missing-persons case. However, those ears aren't just for show, and along with those big eyes, if something happened here recently, that little lion-dog would probably have noticed…"_

"Wow, you are so analytic," Grizz praised, Panda looked skeptical.

"… But what if he wasn't here when it happened?"

Inaho ignored both of them, stepping forward and looking Komasan in the eye. The country yo-kai was happily eating his ice cream when he noticed the purple-haired girl staring at him, he gave a friendly smile and waved.

"Oh, hiya Inaho! How's everything going? Zura," he blinked, looking around, "… Oh, are you Awake? And if ya are, do you know why everything's black and white like one of them old-fashion movies? Zura."

"Yeah, I'm Awake, but that's beside the point," Inaho leaned against the table with a cool-demeaner… before slipping and falling to the floor, "Wha!"

"… You okay? Zura," Komasan stared down in concern, the three bears watching with blank expressions. Inaho pulled herself back up, giving a few fake coughs, before returning to her previous position and demeanor, as if the little slip-up hadn't happened.

"The point here is, someone's gone missing, maybe around here, maybe not, but if it was here, I'd bet you might have caught a glimpse," she carefully slid the photo of Chloe the lion-dog's way, he blinked as he looked down at it, "Look familiar?"

"Hmm… oh! That's Chloe! Zura!" Komasan cheerfully exclaimed in realization.

"… Yeah, and…?"

"… I think she was here a couple days ago, I remember because it was Octuple Swirl-Tuesday, zura!" Komasan stated, before his mind seemed to drift elsewhere, "Mmm, octuple swirl…"

"Koma-man, focus!" Inaho slammed her hands on the table, shaking the yo-kai out of his day-dream.

"Wha…?"

"What did you _SEE_ Komasan!? What happened to Chloe!?"

"Oh, I didn't really see anything, zura," the white komainu shrugged, Inaho nearly fell over again, "Well, I did see her leave with Keita… but nothing else I can really remember," he added before returning to his ice cream, Inaho's eyes widened.

"Keita…?"

"Oh yeah, he's the Anchor isn't he? Maybe we should ask him if he knows what happened to Chloe," Grizz concluded, Inaho seemed to go into thought.

" _And there it was, just when I thought this trail would run cold, a new lead, but one I would've never expected. I can't say that Keita and I are close, but the idea that he could be involved with something like this filled me with unease…"_

"… So, are we going to go to his house, or… what?" Panda asked after a moment of Inaho staring off into space.

"Ice Bear would like a Mog Mog Burger to go, please," the white-furred bear spoke to the woman behind the counter. During this all, USApyon just sat outside with a bored expression…

* * *

" _Keita Amano, if you asked any other person on the street about the kid with that name, they'd probably not be able to tell you anything remarkable about him, except for maybe that he was 'remarkably average.' But there was a hidden side to young Mr. Amano that not many people knew; if you wanted to find a yo-kai in this town there wasn't a much better person to ask for help around here, because chances are, if a yo-kai exists in this town, Keita Amano has met and befriended them."_

"So, should we just knock on his door and ask him, or do we wait until she finishes?" Grizz asked his brothers and USApyon as they, and Inaho stood before the Amano household, Ice Bear motioned to speak, but Inaho's monologue continued before he could.

" _Some called him the 'Yo-kai Master,' yo-kai have even traveled overseas just to meet with him, what was his secret? I don't know, maybe something in his eyes… Still, Yo-kai Master or not, if Keita knew anything about this case, I was going to find out what that was."_

"… So, you done?" Grizz questioned, with a serious look on her face, Inaho silently began walking towards the front door, "I guess she's done," Grizz shrugged before the bears followed her, USApyon groaned, following soon after.

Inaho glared at the front door in silence for a few seconds, before carefully moving her hand to the door and knocking, a few more moments passed before a dark-haired, bespectacled woman wearing yellow answered the door.

"Hello?" Mrs. Amano looked down at Inaho and smiled, "Oh, are you a friend of Keita's?"

"Some could say… we have a history," Inaho explained in as serious a tone as she could, moving her detective hat over her eyes, Keita's mother chuckled a little, finding the act cute.

"Well, he's upstairs in his room if you'd like to see him," the woman said kindly, before noticing the three bears and jumping a little, "Oh, um… bears?"

"Hello ma'am, we're also here to talk to your son!" Grizz waved.

"Ice Bear would like to give Keita a present," the polar bear stated plainly.

"Wait, present? What are you talking about?" Panda questioned his brother curiously, Ice Bear didn't respond.

"Um… well, I suppose…" Keita's mother rubbed her head unsurely, Inaho had already walked past her and into the house.

* * *

" _A messy room, socks and shirts strewn about carelessly, toys and games cluttering the bed and desk, a boy sitting on his computer, truly nothing out of the ordinary at first glance…"_

The Anchor looked up from his computer with an annoyed expression, turning towards the intruder.

"What are you talking about Inaho? _Your_ room is often messier than mine! What are you doing here anyway?" Inaho seemed to ignore Keita's annoyed query, opting to step into the room and take a seat on the bed, waking the napping Jibanyan along the way.

"Nya!" the red nekomata yelped in surprise, before glaring at Inaho with a hiss, the girl just sat, a contemplative expression on her face.

" _Few people know the truth, am I lucky or unlucky to be one of those few? Hard to say, but what's not hard to say is that Keita Amano's room, nay, his life, was haunted…"_

At the sound of Inaho's voice speaking from seemingly nowhere, Keita and Jibanyan exchanged confused looks, before the Anchor chose to speak again.

"Inaho, where is your voice coming from? Are you doing that?"

"Are you the reason everything's black and white!? Nya!" Jibanyan interjected with his own question, Inaho seemed to take a deep breath, before looking at Keita with a serious expression.

"… Okay, what's with the face? Are you even Awake?" the Anchor asked plainly, he let out a Ping which Inaho responded to, but gave no visible indication that she did, "… Okay, I don't even know if that was you or not."

"… Keita Amano," Inaho finally spoke, out of her mouth, getting up from the bed and walking, "You and I have a habit of running into each other, don't we?"

"Habit? Half the time you go out of the way to derail Baseline by meeting with me the first day I get the yo-kai watch, not like many of us bother with obeying Baseline much, other than to keep the time-travel junk stable…" Keita seemed to pause in thought for a moment, before looking towards the intruding Looper with a confused expression, "Why are you here again?"

"Does the name 'Chloe Park' mean anything to you?"

"Chloe?" Keita questioned blankly, Inaho's eyes narrowed further before turning away from Keita and thinking.

" _Playing dumb huh, a typical tactic of Mr. Amano, it is one of the few things he is exceptionally good at, after all…"_

"Hey!" Keita cried out in offense at the monologue, Jibanyan just looked between the two humans blankly, before yawning and curling back up to sleep. Inaho didn't seem to notice, as her monologue continued.

" _I knew it would be hard to get him to talk, but I wasn't prepared for this much resistance…"_

"I have no idea what is going on!"

" _It was clear, he was hiding something… and my course of action was also clear, it was time to unleash my secret weapon…"_

"Secret weapon, you better not pull out that wand I _gave_ you!" Inaho didn't respond to the Anchor's statement, she just turned towards him, and stepped closer to him… uncomfortably closer, "… Inaho, what are you doing?"

"Come on, Keita-kun, you can tell me…" Inaho spoke in a (very unconvincing) innocent voice, taking her glasses off and giving a wink, grabbing Keita's hand with her free one, Keita stared at her with an unreadable expression for a couple of seconds…

"… Inaho, if you don't back away from me right now and promise never to do that again, I _swear_ I will lose all restraint and punch you." Inaho immediately jumped back and put her glasses back on, giving a nervous cough before regaining her serious expression.

" _Drat, I should've known, Mr. Amano was too devoted to his love for Fumika Kodama to ever fall for such a tactic…"_

"Wait, I'm what now!?"

" _But, with my secret technique defeated, what could I do now, how could I get the information I needed?"_

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh, excuse me," Grizz spoke up, entering the room carefully, "Oh, cool room!"

"Oh man, is that an old sock!?" Panda questioned incredulously, looking at the floor as he stepped into the room, Keita glared at the new intruders.

"Ice Bear brought gift from home-branch," the white-furred bear spoke up, stepping into the room and handing Keita a box, the local Anchor blinked in surprise, before opening the box a crack and peeking inside.

"… It's a stag beetle?"

"… Ice Bear heard you enjoyed insects."

"Bro, where have you been keeping that?" Grizz asked blankly, "Oh man, now I feel bad for not bringing a gift!"

"Um, it's fine guys," Keita spoke up, placing the beetle-box on his desk, "You're, the bears, Charlie's friends, right?"

"Oh, yeah, that's us," Panda confirmed, Inaho still seemed to be lost in thought as the three bears stared at Keita, before Grizz's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! We need to know what happened to Chloe! You saw her, didn't you!?" the grizzly bear grabbed hold of Keita's shoulders, he started shaking him, "You gotta tell us man! You gotta!" Keita's body went limp, Grizz paused, shaking him a bit more, and getting no response… "Huh? What…? Oh no! I killed him!" Grizz shouted in shock, Panda fainted, Ice Bear was looking up at something above them, "Oh man! I'm so sorry!" Grizz hugged Keita's body in regret.

"Hey!" Keita's voice called out in an annoyed tone.

"I can still hear his voice!" Grizz cried out.

"That's because I'm RIGHT HERE!"

"Huh?" Grizz blinked in confusion, Ice Bear tapped his brother's shoulder, before pointing in the air above them, where a blue (or, it would be blue, if everything weren't black and white…) spirit, with a familiar hair-style, and a star-shaped hole in his chest floated, "… Ah! A ghost!"

"How long have you been Awake in this branch?" Fuu2 questioned blankly, hovering down to the bears eye-level, Grizz dropped Keita's body and went into a pleading position.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to kill you! Please forgive me!"

"You didn't kill me!" Fuu2 snapped in annoyance, Grizz stopped pleading and looked at the ghost in confusion, "I just left my body because you started shaking me! It's annoying!"

"Oh… "Grizz glanced between Fuu2 and the body on the ground, before pushing the body towards the spirit, "Um, sorry?"

"It's fine, now what do you want?" Fuu2 questioned, floating into his body, Keita quickly got back to his feet and brushed his shirt off.

"Ice Bear would like to know how to leave your body," Ice Bear spoke up, before Grizz's eyes widened again.

"Oh, wait! No, we need to know what happened to Chloe!"

"… That too," Ice Bear nodded, Keita seemed to pause in thought.

"Chloe?" Keita questioned, thinking to himself, "Chloe? Do I know a Chloe?" as Keita thought about this, Ice Bear walked over to Inaho (whom still seemed to be stuck in thought, unaware of what was happening) and took the photo of Chloe from her, before showing it to Keita, "… Oh! That girl!"

"So, you did see her!?" Grizz asked hopefully, Panda groaned as he got back to his feet with a confused expression.

"What's happening…?"

"Yeah, I saw her at Mog Mog Burger!" Keita spoke in realization, "We spoke for a bit, didn't get her name, didn't even realize she was somebody from another Branch, I don't think she was Awake," Keita nodded, "We did leave the burger shop at around the same time…"

"… And?" Grizz urged.

"And…?" Keita rose an eyebrow with a confused look.

"What happened after that! Where did Chloe go!?" Panda spoke up frantically, Keita looked at him for a moment before shrugging.

"I don't know, that was the last time I saw her… sorry," Keita stated plainly.

"… Oh," Grizz and Panda both sighed.

"Ice Bear is disappointed with this dead-end," Ice Bear stated, his monotone still unchanging.

"Well, I may not know where she went, but if you want some help, I could– "

"I've got it!" Inaho suddenly shouted, interrupting the Anchor, "It's so obvious now! Keita doesn't know anything; how could I have not realized it! He and Chloe were just at Mog Mog Burger at the same time!"

"… Wait, did you hear our conversation, or are you trying to pass that off as something you figured out on your own?" Keita questioned with a disbelieving expression.

"But still, maybe this wasn't a waste of time after all! Keita!" Inaho spoke up, moving to the boy's side, he seemed apprehensive

"You better not do that thing again! I swear, I _will_ punch you!"

"No, no, this isn't that!" the young detective assured, "What I need you to do is get your yo-kai friends to help us find clues on where Chloe could be! You've got the most 'connections' after all…"

"… Well, yeah, that's what I was going to– "

"GREAT!" Inaho cheered, Keita gave the bears an annoyed look, Grizz smiled and waved, Panda shrugged, and Ice Bear just stared, Inaho regained her serious look, but with a satisfied smirk on her face.

" _Ah, they do say when one door closes, another opens, and while this may not have been the lead I hoped it would be for the case, we might just be able to make this a win yet…"_

"… Really, what's with the monologue, do you even _know_ it's happening?" Keita asked plainly, "… Also, is your monologue supposed to be present or past-tense!? Because I feel like you aren't being consistent!"

"I'd just go with it, man," Panda sighed, Keita groaned.

"Keita-kun! I'm back, whiss!" Whisper fazed through the wall with a happy grin, and a shopping bag in hand, before he noticed the visitors, "… Huh?"

"Better set that stuff down Whisper, we need to call on a few friends," Keita sighed, patting the ghost butler on the shoulder, Whisper just looked confused.

* * *

" _An unusual group of individuals, but if they could help with the case I wouldn't get hung up over it, after all; in this world you need to take what you can get when it comes to help. And when a lone girl is lost somewhere, her friends and family worrying for her safety, sometimes you need to step up and realize allies can come from even the most unlikely of places..."_

Inaho stood with a serious expression on her face as her monologue filled the room, the friends Keita had called; Fumika, Kyubi, Orochi, Jinmenken, Merameraion, Nogappa, Guts K, and Fuyunyan all stared at her with blank expressions.

"Hey, where _are_ Chloe's parents?" Panda questioned, Ice Bear shrugged. Grizz decided to take this moment to speak up.

"Okay, listen up guys, Chloe's missing! And we really need to find her!" Grizz exclaimed, before letting out a sigh, "I know I don't know any of you, we've never spoken or hung out, but I'm asking for you to look into your hearts and ask yourselves; what is the right thing to do? Well I think it's obvious that helping find a poor, missing girl is definitely the right thing to do!" Grizz gave a thumbs-up.

"… Just help find the girl," The human Anchor stated plainly.

"Very well," Orochi nodded, Guts K and Fuyunyan gave nods as well.

" _Orochi, Guts K, and Fuyunyan; all very powerful yo-kai you would definitely like on your side if you could get them. No doubt they'll have the air covered in the search, and with their unifying sense of justice they certainly won't rest until young Chloe is found."_

"Um, thank you?" Guts K responded to Inaho's monologue with a confused expression that he shared with Fuyunyan.

"I suppose I can look around the alleyways for any signs of her, maybe the bar tender has seen something," Jinmenken said with a thoughtful look.

" _Ah, Jinmenken, what could be said about our local human-faced dog? Drunk? Pervert? Creep? These all perfectly describe this unholy combination of man and man's best friend… Still, doubt many others know the underworld of New Sakura Town as well as he, while also being willing to work with a detective, for now I'll just have to grin and bear with his presence."_

"… Unnecessarily mean," Jinmenken muttered.

"I'll take a look down the riverbanks, dudes!" Nogappa gave a thumbs-up.

" _Nogappa, a strange kappa if there ever was one. He prefers sushi to cucumbers, likes walking on land more than swimming in the water, and talks like a character out of an American cartoon from the 80's. He's known to be forgetful, it's doubtful that he will actually come up with anything useful for the case… still, with my usual partner having deserted me, I need all the help I can get."_

"Not cool, dudette," Nogappa glared at Inaho.

"… Where _is_ USApyon anyaway?" Jibanyan lazily questioned while looking towards Keita, the Anchor shrugged. Kyubi rubbed his chin with a sly look.

"So… how old is this girl anyway?" before any response could be given, Kyubi found himself being yanked away by the ear, "OW! HEY!"

"I think you need to come with me," Fumika said with a firm expression as she dragged the fox-spirit out the door, "Sorry everyone, we'll ask around the neighborhood," the Looping girl assured as she left.

The remaining group just stared, even Inaho seemed surprised by this event, no monologue emitting through the room as she stared at the door, just as befuddled as the others.

* * *

"I'll just find that girl myself, dealing with Inaho's stupidity in this Loop is too much, dani," USApyon grumbled as he walked down the sidewalk, away from Keita's house, "Now, where to start looking? Dani…"

USApyon didn't ponder for very long before he noticed a car pulling up to a nearby house, parking and the doors opening, when he spotted one of the people exiting the car, his eyes widened.

"… You've gotta be kidding, dani!"

* * *

" _The search is on, the players are set, but what to do in the meantime? Do I set my full-energy to helping in the search? Do I wait at my office in case of a call that could provide a vital clue? Do I go and find my wayward partner and make him explain himself? So many decisions, yet so little time…"_

The three bears stared at Inaho, all of them stood in Keita's living room while the others were out searching.

"Shouldn't we be searching too?" Panda asked in concern.

"Ice Bear is making snacks for Chloe's safe return," Ice Bear voiced, stepping into the kitchen.

"You're right Panda, I can't just sit here and wait for info! I need to go help!" Grizz exclaimed, he moved towards the door and opened it, ready to charge out.

"STOP! DANI!" a shout caused Grizz to freeze, the bears each looked out and spotted a very annoyed USApyon, with a… confused young girl, following after him.

"Guys? What's going on?" Chloe asked with a bit of concern, the bears stared at her blankly for a moment.

"CHLOE!" Grizz and Panda shouted, running over to hug the small girl, Ice Bear followed shortly after.

"Come on guys, I told you I was only visiting my grandma for three days," Chloe muttered as the bears hugged her.

"Wait… you did?" Grizz blinked, freezing.

"Yeah, REALLY!?" an irritated USApyon growled.

"Ice Bear has no recollection of this."

"Really…? But, I sent a text," Chloe scratched her head in confusion, the two other bears blinked, before looking towards Panda.

"… Oh!" Panda pulled out his phone and began scrolling, "Let's see… huh? Here it is… must have missed it," Panda chuckled nervously as Grizz and Ice Bear kept staring at him.

"I can't believe this, dani," USApyon grunted.

" _And so, another case is solved by ace-detective Inaho Misora, truly a happy ending for all. A lost girl found, three bears reunited with their friend, and a case closed. Just another day in the life of a real detective…"_

USApyon stiffly turned and glared at Inaho as she stood in the doorframe of the Amano house, a smug look on her face as she looked out at the sky.

"Okay, that's it, I've had it! Dani!" USApyon growled, pressing the two buttons on the bottom of his helmet.

" **VADER MODE!"**

"AH! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'LL STOP! PLEASE! NO FORCE-CHOKE! NO FORCE-CHOKE!" The bears and Chloe watched as Inaho was chased down the sidewalk by a lightsaber wielding USApyon, the bears and Chloe looked to each other for a second.

"So, uh… who's gonna tell those other guys to stop searching?" Grizz questioned.

"Guys, what happened while I was gone?" Chloe questioned, still looking very confused…

 **8.8**

[Yo-kai Watch/Rick and Morty]

"We now return to Mangey-talk with Manjimutt, now here's your host; Manjimutt…"

The aforementioned human-faced dog was sitting in an arm chair in a dimly lit living room, a fireplace was lit to his left, and he had a cup of coffee in hand/paw… the yo-kai took a sip from his coffee before letting out a sigh.

"… When I was alive… I would often wish for a simpler life, but I– "whatever he was about to say was cut-off by Rick turning the channel.

"Hey, Rick!" Morty protested at the channel being changed so quickly.

"Trust me M-Morty, that was going nowhere, if-if you want to listen to some sad, pathetic guy go-go on about his sad, pathetic life, just talk to your dad."

 **8.9**

[RWBY/Red Vs Blue/Yo-kai Watch/Fairy Musketeers/Skullgirls/Hyperdimension Neptunia]

"Okay! Large, confusing, family diagram/history time!" Ruby exclaimed, pulling down a large chart from a wall in the Xiao Long/Rose household, all occupants let out groans, "Oh come on don't give me that, it'll be fun!" Ruby was currently an adult, in her twenties, the Loop having started later than normal.

"Can't we just talk to each other?" Cinder asked plainly.

"Nope! This is important!" Ruby shot back, before going back to the diagram and began pointing at parts of it, "Okay, so it all starts here, when dad decided it was a good idea to sleep with his teammate, Qrow Branwen, who is a girl this Loop!"

"Did somebody make reference to me?" Taiyang asked, coming into the room, only to be baffled at the sight of Ruby's chart.

"Not in a way you'll find pleasant," Cinder grunted.

"Anyway, this led to the unexpected pregnancy that gave birth to Cinder Fall Xiao Long! Why Qrow did not seem to mind when Taiyang then went on to marry her sister, is a mystery for another time!" Ruby chuckled a little, Taiyang let out a sigh, edging his way back to the kitchen, "Taiyang and Raven then had a pair of twins; Yang Xiao Long, and Dexter Grif Xiao Long!"

"How come I don't get a middle name?" Yang questioned, Grif shrugged, letting out a yawn in the process.

"However, shortly after the birth of the twins, Raven Branwen abandoned her family to return to her bandit tribe, though she did still secretly keep tabs on them," Ruby nodded, Yang crossed her arms plainly, "Despite being on his own with three kids to take care of, Taiyang couldn't help but take in an orphan faunus boy that showed up one day, looking through the trash for food, this boy, despite claiming to have no name of his own, would later come to be known as Val Xiao Long!"

"Yes, yes, is there a reason for this, I've got steak to eat," Val growled from a corner of the room where he stood beside a bored looking Akazukin.

"Please hold all questions until after the presentation is complete," Ruby lightly chided, before continuing, "Taiyang would later get together with his last teammate; Summer Rose, together they would miraculously be blessed with another set of twins; myself, Ruby Rose, and my twin sister; Akazukin Rose!"

"Zukyun!" Akazukin held a fist up happily at her name being mentioned, but quickly went back to looking bored.

"Zukyun, indeed…" Ruby shook her head, "Sadly, Summer Rose soon died during a mission, leaving dad in sorrow, and with six kids to take care of alone, however Taiyang eventually remarried to the widow Lily Adams, also taking in her son; Nathan Adams."

"Yeah, hi, I still don't like this idea that keeps popping up," Nate huffed, one of his hands being held by a green-skinned child, whom was picking his nose with the one Nate wasn't holding.

"Together, Lily and Taiyang would have two children of their own; Neptune, and later; Nepgear Xiao Long," Ruby nodded to two purple haired girls.

"That's us! Yeah!" Neptune cheered, Nepgear waved shyly.

"And… that's it for dad's escapades!" Ruby smiled and laughed, "Four partners, three wives, and nine kids!"

"Great! Can we go home now?" Yang asked tiredly, gesturing to Nadia and Blake, seated nearby.

"Not so fast!" Ruby shouted, before pointing to a lower section of the diagram, "Yang would in her teen years go on to date a cat faunus by the name of Blake Belladonna, who she would later marry in adulthood, they would then find and adopt an orphan faunus girl by the name of Nadia Fortune!" Ruby pointed to another section, "Meanwhile Nathan Adams would foolhardily volunteer for an experiment involving inhaling lots of random dust, the results of was one of his boogers taking on a sentient, humanoid form, eventually growing into the child known as Snottle!"

"foolhardily?" Nate grunted, patting his son's head.

"And… okay, I think we're done!" Ruby nodded proudly, everyone else let out a series of relieved sighs.

"Seriously, do we have to do this _every_ time we're all Awake together?" Nate questioned grumpily.

"Nope, not every time, just when I think it's worth looking into," Ruby smirked playfully.

* * *

"Val, Blake, I know you guys are a dog and cat faunus respectively, but you both have to admit this is dumb," Yang sighed as she watched her brother and girlfriend glare at each other from across the room.

"I'm not a dog! I'm a wolf! Wolf!" Val snapped.

"And our species is not what this is about," Blake added blandly.

"Than what is it?" Yang asked in confusion.

"Cheap shots!" Val shouted loudly.

"It's not a cheap shot, you weren't paying attention," Blake countered.

"Why you little!" Val looked like he was ready to lunge forward, but Yang quickly put herself between the two.

"Wow! Wow! Seriously, what the hell!?" she asked, looking between them, "Cheap shots at what, were you two fighting!?"

"Video games," Nadia suddenly interjected with a bored expression.

"… Huh?" Yang looked confused.

"Uncle Val keeps losing to K-mom at video games…"

"… That's what this is about?" Yang looked like she wasn't sure what to think.

"I want another round! This time I won't let you pull any cheap tricks!" Val exclaimed with a determined glare.

"Fine, let's get this over with," Blake grunted, Yang shook her head and groaned.

"Are you _sure_ this isn't about the species-thing?" Yang questioned as Blake and Val exchanged a few hisses and growls.

* * *

"If there's one thing I can appreciate about the expanding family, it's that I am no longer the baby!" Nate exclaimed, looking toward Nepgear with Akazukin at his side.

"Zukyun?" Akazukin tilted her head in confusion, Nate frowned.

"Please stop saying that…"

"… Zukyun!"

"What does 'zukyun' even mean?" Nepgear asked, looking a bit apprehensive.

"'Zukyun' means 'zukyun!'" Akazukin stated smugly.

"'Zukyun' means 'nothing!'" Nate hissed in aggravation.

"Let me try!" the UnAwake Neptune suddenly jumped in excitedly, "Zukyun!"

"Yeah! Zukyun!" Akazukin cheered.

"Seriously! Stop it!" Nate growled.

"You're my big brother, it's my job to annoy you!" Neptune stuck out her tongue, Akazukin giggled and Nepgear looked nervously between them, Nate sighed but allowed himself to smile a little.

"Hey! Baby bro! Come help me with this Christmas tree!" Ruby called from the other room, Nate's smile disappeared.

"Don't call me that! I'm not the 'baby' anymore!" he shouted back as he moved to go to her.

"Still the youngest boy! Still my baby bro!" Ruby countered, Nate groaned as his younger sisters and Akazukin shared a few laughs.

* * *

Nadia sat on the couch with a bored expression, she glanced down at the floor, where Snottle sat, his eyes glued to the TV, and his fingers firmly up his nostrils.

"Um… so, cousin?" she spoke unsurely, Snottle glanced her way with a blank expression.

"Hello…"

"Yes, hello…" the two stared at each other for a few moments, "… Do you need to keep your fingers up your nose all the time?"

"Nose-picking is good, it feels good and is good for you," Snottle stated plainly, Nadia's expression scrunched a bit.

"I'm not a doctor, but… I don't think that's right."

"Come on cuzz! It feels great, let's dig for gold!" Snottle did an enthusiastic twirl, the cat-girl gave a small chuckle.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in picking my nose, you can continue though," Nadia waved off the offer, but soon noticed that her hands were moving against her will, "Huh, what the…!?" her hands moved towards her nose, two fingers outstretched, "Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Dig for gold! It's fun!" Snottle exclaimed, Nadia let out hiss as she tried to move her head away from her hands.

"I don't want to pick my nose!" she growled, she charged forward from the couch and knocked Snottle off his feet, she immediately felt her hands return to her control and gave a sigh of relief.

"Ow, that hurt," Snottle whined from the floor, the cat faunus sent a glare his way.

"Well, that's what you get for trying to get me to do something against my will! I will not be picking my nose anytime soon!" Nadia huffed, crossing her arms, Snottle pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"But it's fun," he insisted, keeping his own fingers in his nose, the cat-girl sweatdropped with a blank expression.

"You and I have very different ideas of fun…"

"Snottle!" Nate entered the room with his arms crossed, the green-skinned child looked his way, "What did I tell you about making people pick their noses?"

"But dad…"

"Don't you 'but dad' me! Now, apologize to your cousin!" Nate snapped with a firm expression, Snottle stared blankly at him for a moment, before turning to Nadia and bowing.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to share my interests with you…"

' _Your interest is picking your nose?_ ' Nadia thought with a blank expression, she shook the thought away and shrugged, "Eh, no harm done, just don't do it again."

"Okay…"

"Good," Nate nodded with a small smile, before turning to leave, "Now be good! I need to help grandpa-Taiyang with the food preparation," and with that, he left for the kitchen, and the two cousins were left in silence once more.

"… So, what's up with you and your dad anyway?" Nadia questioned after a moment.

"I was one of his boogers that gained sentience and traveled the world, until returning home where I became a yo-kai after being sucked up a by vacuum and thrown out…"

"… Huh, really?"

"… Yes."

* * *

"Christmas dinner is served!" Taiyang announced to his family seated at the table, including his nine children, two grandchildren, wife, daughter-in-law, her parents, Raven, and Qrow (both Awake, and Qrow not very pleased that he was a _she_ this Loop…)

"Zukyun! I'm so hungry!" Akazukin cheered, reaching for some of the various food items that were spread out at the table, only for her to be bopped on the head by Val, who sat beside her.

"Idiot! Don't just go grabbing food like that!" the wolf faunus growled, Akazukin drooped a little.

"Here," Ruby tossed a roll that her twin caught, before giving her a happy smile, Val however…

"Throwing food is also unacceptable!"

"Says the guy who likes to eat raw meat off the ground…" Blake muttered from across the table, between her parents and Yang, Val glared at her.

"Hey, do you have something to say to me!?"

"Guys, really?" Yang sighed in embarrassment as Val and Blake glared at each other while exchanging growls and hisses.

"Snottle, don't pick your nose at the table!" Nate scolded his son in the seat beside him.

"Um… excuse me?" Taiyang tried to speak, but nobody seemed to hear him.

"This is boring, can we eat yet?" Neptune questioned hungrily.

"Neptune…" Nepgear whined a bit, sinking into her seat.

"Why did I even come here?" Raven muttered boredly.

"Because I wasn't going to face everyone else like _this_ by myself," Qrow angrily whispered into her sister's eat.

"Yet, you were fine with facing _me_?"

"Look, I'm hungry, why can't we just take food?" Grif questioned.

"You should wait for papa-Taiyang to speak first," Nate stated, gesturing to the man who was still trying to get a word in, before looking back at his son, "Snottle! I told you to get your fingers out of your nose!"

"Ah, never a dull moment here, huh?" Kali questioned good naturally, Ghira didn't look like who knew what to say…

"Excuse me!" Taiyang spoke up loudly, all eyes went to him, all shenanigans stopping, Lily nodded in approval, the Looping father sighed, "Thank you, now…" a confused look suddenly came onto the man's face, realizing he had no idea what to say…

"… Dad?" Ruby spoke up in concern, Taiyang opened his mouth and closed it a few times, before putting on a calm exterior and letting out a cough.

"Enjoy the food everyone…"

"… That's it?" Cinder asked blankly.

"Good enough for me!" Neptune lunged forward, grabbing whatever she wanted for her plate.

"Um, sis, that's rude…" Nepgear muttered unsurely.

"Would you two knock it off and just eat?" Yang tried to mediate between Val and Blake.

"You're not getting any food until you get those fingers out of your nose and wash those hands," Nate stated sternly to Snottle, the child simply stared at his father blankly, his fingers still firmly up his nose.

"Grandma Kali, Grandpa Ghira, can we spend next Christmas with you guys?" Nadia questioned tiredly.

"Sure thing, it will be great to have everyone over!" Kali nodded enthusiastically, Nadia and Ghira both stared blankly at her.

"That's… not what I meant."

Ruby laughed as the chaos continued, grabbing some food for herself and patting her father on the shoulder.

 **8.10 Boohoooo!**

(Yo-Kai Watch/Super Mario Bros/Kirby)

King Dedede strutted down the street, flanked by Manjimutt and Waluigi. They were wearing excessive bling and shades.

"Uh uh, we're totally rad boiiiii!" Dedede exclaimed.

"Yeah! If you step up to us, you must be wiggity-wiggity-whack!" Manjimutt scoffed.

"WAAAAAAAA!" Waluigi exclaimed.

As the trio continued to strut and talk in slang, Luigi watched on with Kirby and Nate, blinking in confusion.

 **8.11**

[Yo-kai Watch/Seaman]

Seaman let out a content sigh, it wasn't often to have a Loop where he was so free as he was now, as a yo-kai and able to float at that, he just wanted to relax and enjoy his freedom…

"Seaman! Just the man-fish I wanted to see!" Inaho exclaimed, moving over to the floating human-faced fish, whom let out a sigh of annoyance before turning to her.

"Do I know you?"

"Of course you do! It's me, Inaho!" he just gave her a confused look at that answer, "Or Hailey, now, sometimes… we met in the tunnel!"

"… Oh yeah, now I remember," Seaman grunted before turning away from her, "I'm busy right now, please go away."

"But I wanted to talk to you about something! Come on! Please!" the purple-haired girl pleaded loudly, Seaman groaned, turning to her again.

"Okay, _what_ is it?"

"I want you to help save the Nostalgia Critic's Christmas party!"

"… What?"

"Yeah, a bunch of no-fun jerks are planning to ruin it, and why? I don't know! But I don't want them to!" Inaho ranted, throwing her hands in the air, "I got Komasan and Komajiro to agree to help, bless their little hearts, but nobody else from my branch wants to get involved one way or the other! Not even USApyon! But I noticed you were here and thought you might be interested…?"

"… Why?" Seaman asked blandly, Inaho blinked with a confused look.

"Well… I did see a picture of you dressed like Santa once…"

"And because of that, you assume I _care_ about Christmas?"

"… Don't you?" at this, Seaman took a deep breath.

"Let me tell you a few things about myself, I am the perpetually reincarnating form of an ancient pharaoh's son, while what exactly my time in Egypt entailed isn't exactly clear, I'm _sure_ Christmas was not a part of my life then, my life in your present time is almost entirely spent inside a _fish tank_ , nothing more, you know what Christmas is to me? Another day in the tank!" with a huff, Seaman turned away from the dejected Inaho, "I have no interest in getting involved with such a thing, so go away! I can't even imagine who would care enough to bother ruining this party anyway…"

"Oh, well a lot of people actually," Inaho muttered, thinking about who she had heard was on 'Team Scrooge,' "Like Timmy Turner–I think he started it, Danny, The Angry Video Game Nerd, Adri– "

"Wait!" Seaman interrupted, Inaho looked confused as the human-faced fish turned back to her, wide-eyed, "Did you say; 'The Angry Video Game Nerd?'"

"Um… yeah?" Inaho blinked at Seaman's sudden interest, the man-fish seemed to scowl for a moment, before nodding.

"Very well, count me in…"

"… You're going to help us save the party?"

"Yes."

"Awesome! I knew I could convince you!" Inaho cheered, Seaman just nodded again, a determined look in his eyes.

' _Try to destroy me, will you Nerd? Well I'm going to show you why you should never mess with Seaman…_ ' Seaman thought to himself, not noticing as Inaho prattled on about how fun the party would be.

 **8.12 Boohoooo!**

(Yo-Kai Watch X Family Guy)

Manjimutt whistled as he walked around the supermarket.

"YO-KAI KICK TO THE CROTCH!" Peter Griffin exclaimed, appearing out of nowhere and kicking Manjimutt in the crotch. Manjimutt collapsed, squeaking in pain,

"RHYMES, SUCKA!" Peter laughed, running off... only to be tackled and arrested for assault.

 **8.13**

[Yo-kai Watch/Kobitos Zukan]

"Bug… bug," Keita muttered as he walked through the forest, bug-net in hand, Whisper not far behind, "Where to find a bug?"

"Why are we doing this, Keita-kun? Whiss," Whisper asked while scratching his head, Keita turned to the other Looper and shrugged.

"I like catching bugs, it's a good way to relax after having to deal with both yo-kai, and Looping craziness," Keita spotted something on a tree and smiled, "Aha!"

"What is it, Keita-kun!? Whiss," the spectral butler asked curiously, Keita was looking at what appeared to be a large, one horned beetle, clinging to the bark of the tree.

"A unicorn beetle, I'll have to show this to Fumika later!" Keita cheered, throwing his net onto the beetle, Whisper floated over and looked over his master/friend's shoulder as he pulled the beetle out, "Check it out, Whisper, this beet– "Keita stopped talking when he got a good look at the beetle's belly… and the humanoid face that was staring at him, occasionally blinking. "… What the? A yo-kai!?" at the Anchor's exclamation, the 'beetle' let out a small scream.

"Yeah… that's not a yo-kai, whiss…" Whisper muttered with a weirded-out expression. Keita stared at his catch for a moment longer, it let out another scream, before the boy sighed and placed it back on the tree.

"Let's keep going…" Keita spoke, already moving forward, wanting to forget what just happened…

 **8.14 smxsonic**

[Hyperdimension Neptunia/ Yokai Watch]

Nate was walking home from school when he found a familiar otter yo-kai sitting on a bench, crossing his arms in consternation.

"USApyon?" Nate asked in surprise, "What are you doing here? Is something wrong with Hailey?"

The otter sighed and shook his head, "You... you need to see this, dani."

* * *

USApyon led Nate to the forest clearing where he and Hailey usually built the Rocket, but instead of Hailey, Nate found a girl with lilac hair wearing a school uniform with purple accents.

"She keeps tinkering with it even though I keep saying that the next part won't come until next week, dani."

"Wait," Nate raised his eyebrow, "Nepgear!?"

 **Nepgear and The Family Tree: Nate Adams/Keita Amano**

The girl looked up from the rocket, "Hm? Oh, Nate! or is it Keita?"

"Nate, this time around."

USApyon jumped back, "You know her, dani!?"

Nate scratched the back of his head "Hehe, Well, she's kind of my sister..."

"DANI!?"

"It's... you remember Ruby, right?"

"Oh, right, dani." USApyon nodded, suddenly understanding everything.

"I sort of met Nepgear when the entire family Looped in to Remnant that one time."

"Well, everyone except big sis," Nepgear amended.

"Which reminds me," Nate put his hands on Nepgear, "Please tell me I'm no longer the baby of the family."

Nepgear paused in thought, "Well... it's... Loop variable"

Nate's head fell, "... And Neptune?"

"We're pretty sure she's been counting her age in centuries before she started Looping"

Nate sighed, while Nepgear sweatdropped.

"Wait, you have a watch, right?"

Nepgear showed him her purple Yokai Watch U. Nate smiled and then fished out a medal from his pocket. He handed Nepgear a medal.

"What's this?"

"Well, I become a Yo-kai in Baseline, that's my medal."

"Oh," Nepgear vocalized not really knowing the implications of that, "Um, Thank you."

"I know we only really know each other because of someone from a completely different loop, but I hope that you and I can be friends. Neptune too, if she wants. I really hope to meet her Looping-self one day. "

"Thank you, Nate, I really hope we get to know each other too, as siblings should. Neptune is still getting used to the idea of having extended Looping family, "But I think she would love to see this branch. She loves importing games from Lowee!"

"Uh, What?"

"Oh... I guess I should tell you more about my branch…"

* * *

Nepgear faced down CFW Magic as was baseline. She smiled as she got what she thought was a great Idea at the time. She un-pocketed her watch and a medal.

"Come on out, Brother!" She called out, "Calling: Fuu2! Yo-kai Medal, Set On!"

She inserted the medal into the watch.

"Ladies and Gentelmen, SummmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm~"

It was then that the world around Nepgear started to glitch out, as if someone was running her Hub backup on an AMD Proccessor.

It was that day that Nepgear learned 3 things:

1\. Never try to summon something from outside her loop, Especially the Anchor.

2\. There's a reason why you never crash Loops.

3\. She was getting Vert a Massage chair next Nepmas (Or whatever equivalent there was in that iteration).

 **8.15**

[Yo-kai Watch/The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack]

"GET BACK HERE WITH MY HEART!"

"SWIM FLAP!" Captain K'nuckles shouted to his young companion, the mermaid's heart clutched in his wooden hands, as the two quickly moved through the water to get away from the enraged Mermaidyn.

"She seems really angry, cap'n!" Flapjack pointed out as they kept moving, "Maybe you shouldn't have taken her heart?"

"Never mind that now! JUST KEEP MOVING!" the old pirate snapped back as the aquatic yo-kai kept in pursuit of them.

"I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS NONSENSE!" in a flash, Mermaidyn evolved into Mermadonna, and began to charge up a soultimate move.

"Bubby! Get us out of here!" K'nuckles shouted to the whale as they reached her, climbing into her mouth.

"Okay, what did you do now!?" she questioned critically.

"JUST GET MOVING!" K'nuckles shouted frantically, before hastily adding; "Please…"

"TIDAL WAVE!" Mermadonna shouted as she unleashed her soultimate, a giant wave forming behind the retreating trio, any protest died in Bubby's mouth.

"Okay, I'm moving!" the whale complied, swimming fast away, Mermadonna huffed as she glared in the direction they fled in, a look of annoyance, and rage in her eyes.

"And I thought this Loop was going to be peaceful, what else is there to deal with here…?" she groaned, "Why do I even need a heart? I'm a spirit… Better get it back anyway," she groaned, reverting back to Mermaidyn before following after where the thief had gone…

 **8.16 Boohoooo!**

(Yo-Kai Watch X Dragon Ball)

Manjimutt Awoke and noticed he was a human again. Specifically, Master Roshi... peeking under a woman's skirt.

One beating later...

"Huh... Been a while since this happened." He mused in dull surprise, rubbing his injuries.

"GIVE US YO MONEY, OLD-TIMER!" A group of thugs exclaimed. Manjimutt screamed and fired off a Kamehameha... which destroyed half the city.

"Wellp, that's my cue to go into hiding..." Manjimutt gulped, running off.

 **8.17**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"So, Emerald, you're Looping now?" after class had finished, Emerald found herself being approached by a familiar, brown-haired boy, only now he was a mere eleven-year-old child, as opposed to the fifteen-year-old version of him she had seen at Beacon.

Though, she too was only eleven-years-old right now…

"Yes, I am, and you…" the Looping girl put on the best polite-face she could, but she couldn't help but stare at the boy before her with a critical eye, "are… Keita?"

"Actually, right now I'm Nate, but yes," the boy nodded, Emerald's face scrunched a bit.

"Right, the name thing, Cinder… mentioned that," Emerald internally groaned, she was going to have to remember _both_ his names, wasn't she…?

"I know it's a little odd, many Loopers have alternative names that they sometimes have in variants, but most of them have a name they can pinpoint as Baseline and stick to it," Nate chuckled a little, "But, not here, we shift between what the hub would call the 'dub' and 'sub' version of our Baseline so often we don't know which is the original… so we just go with whatever name we have at the time."

"Sounds confusing," Emerald muttered, the Anchor nodded.

"Oh yeah, Hailey is still getting used to having two names, she's only been Inaho for so long, and now suddenly she has another name," Nate explained, still laughing a bit, Emerald gave him a blank look. "We did offer to just keep calling her 'Inaho,' but… she interpreted _that_ as us trying to leave her out…"

"… Okay, whatever, look I actually wanted to talk to you about something anyway," the new Looper tried to explain, the Anchor gave her a strange look.

"You did? What?"

"Well, mainly… to apologize," Emerald tried her best to look sincere as she spoke, Cinder told her to apologize to her brother and she would, though she didn't have to like it…

"Apologize, for wha…" Nate seemed to pause as he trailed off, his eyes turning suspicious as he looked her over, "You were the one who assassinated me that Loop, weren't you?" Emerald blinked in surprise.

"Wait, how do you…?"

"I woke up, just not soon enough to stop you," Nate groaned, "Gah, I let my guard down, even in a Null-Loop, to be taken out by a new Looper…" Emerald stared at him for a moment, before what he was saying processed.

"Wait a second, you're _embarrassed_ that _I_ killed you!?"

"I've been Looping for a very _long_ time, kid," Nate grunted, not even flinching at the glare Emerald gave him.

"Kid!? _You_ are a kid!"

"Baseline-wise, yes, but I've also been Looping for _billions_ of years, to me you're practically an infant," Nate stated, Emerald felt her patience wearing thin…

"Look, I'm trying to apologize to you! Could you not insult me by acting like I'm a new-born chick or something!?"

"I'm not insulting you, you're new, it's a fact, you _will_ get stronger," Nate explained, though Emerald didn't seem any happier, "But still, I let my guard down in a Null-Loop! And I was the only Anchor, that's inexcusable, seems I've gotten too used to death not mattering!" this comment gave Emerald pause.

"What… do you mean by that? 'Death not mattering,'?" the Anchor blinked at this question.

"… Cinder didn't explain what my Loop is like, did she?" Emerald shook her head, Nate nodded, "Okay… well than I guess I better... come on, this will be easier to discuss at my house," and with that Nate began to lead the visiting Looper to his home, Emerald let out an annoyed groan, but followed without complaints.

* * *

"The duty of a butler is never done," Whisper happily hummed as he dusted Nate's room, Jibanyan lazily watched from the bed.

"You do knyow this is pointless, right? Nyate doesn't care if you do work or nyot, and even if he did, everything will be undone at Loop's end," the ghostly butler looked over at the nekomata crossly.

"You know, that mentality is basically the same as 'why clean now, when it's just going to get dirty again,' right?" Whisper huffed, "Besides, I don't know about you, you lazy cat, but I'd rather not live in a pigsty during the Loop, and I'm sure Nate would agree with me!"

"Whatever, do what'cha want, I nyeed to get back to my laziness exercises if I want to impress Master Grif nyext time we see each other," Jibanyan seemed to sink into the mattress of the bed, somehow, Whisper sweatdropped.

"Has Nate ever told you that his brother is a _horrible_ influence on you?"

"Repeatedly…" before any further conversation could be had between the two Looping yo-kai, they were alerted by the sound of their Anchor/friend calling from downstairs.

"Mom, I'm home! I brought a friend from school!" the two Loopers glanced at each other curiously.

"Can't be Eddie, Bear or Katie, Nyate would say their nyames, not just 'a friend from school…'"

"Yes, it's also unlikely to be Hailey," Whisper stated with his arms crossed, "Though, I wouldn't put it past that girl to go stealth, last I checked she wasn't Awake, and Nate almost never brings UnAwake versions of her to his house this early in the Loop…"

"Could it be Kyubi in human form?"

"You know that fox is never far from Katie when they're both Awake, and even if it was, why would Nate lie and say he was from school? He could just say 'a friend' and his parents wouldn't question it…" the two stared at each other for a moment.

"… Why are we speculating on this?"

"Because you and I are both _really_ bored."

"It's probably just a visiting Looper," the quiet voice of Hidabat sounded from a crack in the closet.

* * *

"Mom, this is Emerald, she's new, I offered to help her study, and maybe show her some of my games," Nate introduced as his mother looked over the young girl with a kind smile, Emerald tried to put on her friendliest façade, though she couldn't help feeling some faint, _dangerous_ aura, emitting from the woman, _warning_ her not to cross her…

"Oh, how nice Nate! Making new friends so fast and offering to help them, you're turning into quite the little gentleman, aren't you," Nate's mother affectionately ruffled the boy's hair, Nate blushed in embarrassment.

"Mom…" Emerald looked between the two with a baffled expression, before Nate had an air of confidence and experience, now he just seemed to be like any other child, and the dangerous aura she felt from his mother had vanished in an air of love and pride, however the dangerous feeling was back full-force when the dark-haired lady looked back towards Emerald.

"You two go on up and have fun, make sure to actually get some studying done and not spend the whole time playing games."

"Will do, mom," Nate nodded as he led Emerald up the stairs, the green-haired girl trailed not far behind him.

"Oh! And keep your door open!"

"Okay!" Nate called back down the stairs before the two continued, Emerald glanced back the way they came before looking towards Nate again.

"Um… is your mom Looping?"

"No," the Anchor answered simply, Emerald didn't know how to feel about that…

* * *

"Hey guys, Emerald's Looping," Nate stated as he walked into his room, Emerald followed soon after, looking around with a confused expression.

"Who are you talking to? There's nobody else here," the green-haired girl pointed out, Nate nodded to her before looking back to the room.

"Also, make yourselves visible so I can explain things easier," moments after the Anchor said that, Emerald was surprised when two beings seemed to appear from nowhere; a two-tailed cat-like creature resting on the bed, and some sort of ghost floating around the room…

"Well, out of all the possibilities, this girl wasn't who I was expecting," Whisper said, he seemed to be looking at Emerald critically, making her uncomfortable.

"Visiting Looper, knyew it," Jibanyan lazily raised a paw, Whisper twitched before glaring down at the nekomata.

"No you didn't, that was Hidabat!"

"Just because she said it, doesn't mean I wasny't thinking it."

"What exactly am I looking at?" Emerald asked, looking unsure of what to think.

"Emerald, I'd like you to meet Whisper and Jibanyan, two of my closest friends, follow Loopers, as well as yo-kai," Nate explained with a cheerful smile, this answer didn't do much to cure Emerald's confusion, if anything it _added_ to it…

"… What in the world is a yo-kai!?"

"Um, hello, right in front of you," Jibanyan grunted, Whisper let out a sigh.

"Right, because _that's_ all the explanation she needs."

"Don't worry guys, I've got this," the Anchor assured his friends, before he took Emerald aside and began to explain exactly what a 'yo-kai' was to her.

* * *

"So, they're like ghosts and spirits…?" Emerald muttered, feeling tired after Nate's long-winded explanation on these strange beings that inhabited his (and apparently many others'…) world.

"To call yo-kai simply 'ghosts,' or 'spirits' is an oversimplification, but with how they are in this world, it's the easiest way to describe them," Nate stated with a kind smile, "For example, we're pretty sure two of our other Loopers; Komasan and Komajiro, were born as komainu, as opposed to say, Jibanyan here, who was a regular cat before he got hit by a truck, so it's not so cut-and-dry," at the mention of Jibanyan's method of becoming a yo-kai, Emerald seemed to frown, but didn't say anything…

"I'll beat those trucks eventually," Jibanyan stated with a yawn, Nate and Whisper both sweatdropped, neither wanting to comment on how the little nekomata probably _already_ had the power to 'beat' any truck…

"And as for me, I become the yo-kai Fuu2 when I die," the Anchor added, "Which makes it a bit harder to crash our Loop than most, since _usually_ just killing me doesn't do the trick."

"So, the reason Cinder called your Loop 'Yo-kai Watch' is because of these… things," Emerald glanced at the yo-kai again, before looking back at the Anchor, "But… watch?"

"Oh, yes, the yo-kai watch," Nate showed his wrist, where the strange watch was strapped on, "This is the standard model, though there are several others that show up later on, and I've made plenty of custom-mods," he pulled another watch from his pocket as an example, though, other than being green, Emerald didn't see much of a difference, "As for why our Loop gets called the 'Yo-kai Watch Loop' a lot… well, it's the thing about our Loop that 'stands out' most, and it's what the show and game we have in the Hub are called. Plus, calling our Loop 'the Yo-kai World' would be both inaccurate, since the Yo-kai World is only a part of our Loop, and easy to confuse with a few other Branches. So, 'Yo-kai Watch Loops' it is!"

"Look, I don't care why your Loop is named after that watch, but why is it so important,'" Emerald questioned, rolling her eyes.

"Well, without the yo-kai watch, Nate here would have never been able to see yo-kai in the first place," Whisper explained, Emerald jumped a little when he came over and floated around her, "It's also used to summon his yo-kai companions, like Jibanyan and myself."

"And yet, you _still_ haven't given me your medal in Baseline," Nate commented, tossing the green yo-kai watch to Emerald.

"You call your Baseline-self an 'idiot' all the time, Nate, so don't start asking me about that stuff now," Whisper defended.

"Why did you give me this?" Emerald questioned, looking over the yo-kai watch skeptically.

"Standard precedent; your first time here, you get a yo-kai watch, being able to see yo-kai, at least, is important if you don't want some of them randomly deciding to mess up your day," Nate answered with a shrug, "You should be able to see them without it after a while, so long as you know where to look and they're not _trying_ to stay hidden, it's mostly a matter of honing your spiritual senses."

"… Okay, if you say so," Emerald let out an annoyed sigh, before pocketing the watch, she would decide if it was important to heed his advice, or toss the watch out later, "You know, Nate-Keita-whatever, you're really not what I was expecting…"

"What do you mean by that?" Nate frowned as the younger Looper looked him over.

"Well… the yo-kai stuff is weird, but other than that, I wasn't expecting for someone Cinder calls 'brother' to be… such an average kid…" Emerald didn't notice the way Nate twitched as she finished her sentence.

"What did you just _call_ me…?"

"Oh, nyo she didn't," Jibanyan hissed, he and Whisper backed away with fearful expressions.

"Look, I mean no offense," Emerald waved her hand dismissively, "All I'm saying is, you're supposed to be this 'ancient Anchor' or whatever, someone I should feel intimidated by, supposedly, maybe this world where 'death doesn't matter' has made you slack off a bit, I mean, even if it was a _supposed_ Null-Loop, I _did_ kill you the first time we were Awake together."

"I see…" Nate seemed to have gone calm, Jibanyan and Whisper had hidden in the closet with Hidabat, all three peeking out from the cracked door, "Okay, let's go outside."

"Huh?" Emerald looked confusedly at the boy, who was staring at her with a friendly smile, though something about his eyes seemed… off, "Um… okay…"

* * *

"So, what's this about?" Emerald questioned, having followed Nate to a grassy area, near the river in Uptown Springdale.

"Oh, I just thought you and I could have a little spar," Nate said with an innocent smile, Emerald looked at him with a blank expression.

"Um… are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, my sister always talks about how _great_ and _loyal_ you are, I think I'd like to see some of your skills for myself," Nate kept his smile, though there was a sinister gleam in his eyes, Emerald didn't notice though, focusing more on what the Anchor had just said.

"Cinder _praised_ me? Well…" she the green-haired girl glanced to the ground before looking back at the Anchor, "Okay, if Cinder gave you that impression, I've no choice but to live up to her expectations… but keep in mind that I won't go easy on you just because she calls you 'brother.'"

"I'm sure you won't," Nate nodded calmly, Emerald got ready to take a battle stance, but paused and looked around at the various people going about their days.

"Wait, what about all of them?"

"Don't worry about them, they won't even glance in our direction," Nate waved off the concern, making the visiting Looper curious.

"How so? Did you make us invisible somehow?"

"Well… it's more like a passive 'don't notice me' suggestion, but the principal is similar," the Anchor shrugged, Emerald gave him a confused look, before shaking it off and standing ready.

"Okay, whatever. You want a spar, you got one! So let's go!" Emerald narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, let's… go," Nate twitched a little as his eyes flashed blue, Emerald not noticing as a faint aura surrounded her. Emerald began charging towards Nate, but almost immediately slowed to a stop as she found herself unable to use her semblance.

"Huh, what the…?"

"Best not get distracted," Nate surprised the other Looper by zipping behind her, now with Spectral Fang in hand, Emerald shook off her confusion and attempted to do a backflip… only to fail at it and fall on her back.

"Ow!" the currently-eleven-year-old girl cried, "W-what's going on here? My semblance? My reflexes?" she noted the boy standing over her, a pleased grin on his face, and something clicked, "Y-you! What did you do to me!?"

"Yeah, sorry Emerald, hate to break it to you, but…" Nate went onto one knee and looked the fallen girl in the eye, "The _'average'_ person in this world doesn't have the capabilities of a hunter…"

"W-what?" Emerald wasn't sure what was happening, but Nate just shook his head and stood up.

"I've made my point, you're not strong enough to resist my inspiritment yet, maybe with a few more Loops…" Nate turned to walk away, Emerald stood up, a look of fury forming on her face.

"Why you…!" she pulled her weapons from her pocket and attempted to shoot Nate, but he dodged every hit in a blur of rose petals, "What the… Ruby?"

"Not exactly, but it is her semblance," Nate appeared by Emeralds side, before knocking the weapons out of her hands.

"What the!?" she tried to punch the boy, but he effortlessly caught her fist.

"Give up yet?" at this comment, Emerald seethed, trying to find a way to attack the Anchor, but every time he just stopped her attempts, as if she was a powerless child.

"I don't understand! I thought you wanted to spar! What are you doing!?"

"You could never beat me as you currently are, Emerald, a spar between us now would be pointless," Nate looked at the girl with a serious expression, "If you can't even resist my inspiritment, how can you even hope to actually fight me when I'm using my other abilities? I did this to prove a point."

"What point? What did you do to me!?" Emerald growled as she glared at Nate.

"I just told you, I _inspirited_ you," Nate stated plainly, "I'm pretty sure I explained the concept to you earlier; yo-kai can inspirit others, I can become a yo-kai, and have been one enough times to use my powers in my human form; I can make anyone I inspirit 'average.'"

"Average…?" Emerald paused, remembering what had sparked this event, "Did… did you do this just because I called you an average kid!?"

"No… Well, not entirely," Nate looked sheepish for a moment, before regaining his serious stance, " _Never_ underestimate a Looper because of their Baseline, _especially_ not an Anchor!" at this, Emerald gave the local Anchor a confused look, "Admit it, you didn't think much of me since the moment we met!"

"Well… I mean…" Emerald _tried_ to look ashamed…

"You were thinking about how this 'average little boy' could be your glorious Cinder's brother, how could this pathetic little child claim such a place by her side?" Nate grunted, looking to Emerald again with serious eyes, "In your hasty judgement of me, you failed to take several things into account, including my experience, and the fact that I'm an Anchor."

"I…" Emerald froze for a moment as she processed what had happened in the last few minute, she drooped a bit, "I _did_ do that, didn't I? What was _I thinking!?_ " she shook her head with an incredulous look, "I didn't see you as an Anchor, or a Looper, I just saw you as some kid… GAH!" Emerald threw her face into her hands, Nate moved over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "What happened to everything Cinder told me about the Loops!? I just couldn't believe that _you_ were that strong!"

"Yeah, that's nice to hear," Nate muttered sarcastically, but kept his hand on the girl's shoulder. Emerald let out an annoyed groan, before taking her face out of her hands and looking towards Nate, she sighed.

"I suppose I owe you… two apologies now," the visiting Looper begrudgingly admitted, Nate shrugged.

"Meh, maybe I could've made my demonstration a little less… hazing?" the brown-haired boy admitted, before holding a hand out to the girl, "How about you just not tell Cinder about what I did, and we call it even?" Emerald looked at the hand for a moment in consideration, before grasping it.

"Okay, but only if you don't tell Cinder how _I_ underestimated you."

"Deal," the two shook hands, before getting back to their feet.

"So, what do we do now?" Emerald questioned as the two began walking back towards Nate's house.

"Simple, we go to our homes; tomorrow, we solve a yo-kai problem," Nate nodded to himself with a thoughtful look, "Buhu should be showing up tomorrow if this Loop continues to follow Baseline…"

"Okay… I suppose I'll talk to you tomorrow," Emerald looked unsure, before she started walking in the direction she lived this Loop, she glanced back towards Nate, "Say, Nate… did Cinder _really_ mention me to you?"

"… Yes, she only had good things to say," the Anchor smiled, Emerald smiled back before they continued on their separate ways.

* * *

"… Do you think it's over yet?" Jibanyan whispered from within the closet, huddled up with Whisper, Hidabat seated nearby.

"I don't know, I didn't hear any crashes…" Whisper shivered.

"Do you think we should check?"

"You crazy cat! Don't open that door," Whisper pulled Jibanyan away from the door and hid further in the closet, Hidabat sweatdropped.

"Seriously guys…"

* * *

"You know, you don't have to follow me to school," Katie commented to Kyubi, currently in his human-disguise, as they walked down the path to school, "Especially not in that form, you'll give people the wrong idea," the fox-spirit let out a chuckle.

"What? Katie, my dear, if people get the impression that we're dating wouldn't that only do good things for your reputation?" at the fox yo-kai's remark, Katie let out an annoyed groan, "Though, I suppose it would be quite cruel to shatter so many young ladies' dreams by letting them think I'm taken."

"I'm pretty sure it's _your_ dreams that would be shattered," the human Looper commented with a dull expression, "Or, should I say 'delusions?'"

"Oh, you're just jealous," Kyubi scoffed, crossing his arms, Katie sighed. The two friends continued on the path for a few more minutes, before the yo-kai's eyes were drawn to someone walking on the sidewalk across from them, "Whoa, check it out Katie! Cute new girl at nine-o'clock!" at the fox's exclamation, Katie looked over.

"Oh, that's Emerald," the female Looper commented casually, having recognized the girl from her occasional trips to Remnant, as well as from class the other day, she instantly noticed Kyubi's scheming expression and internally groaned.

"Emerald, huh? Hmm… I smell an unsuspecting heart of a maiden, crying out to be given to one whom can offer her with affection she so desires," Kyubi gave a dazzling smile as he spoke, Katie didn't look impressed.

"All I can smell is this cheeksqueek," at this comment, Kyubi looked over at his friend, his face twisted in disgust at the sight of the butt-faced yo-kai standing beside her.

"What is that even doing there?"

"It was probably attracted by your cheesy lines," Katie chuckled, Kyubi gave her an unamused expression.

"… You summoned it, didn't you?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"… You know what, forget it," Kyubi scoffed, turning to look back at the further away, but still in-sight Emerald, "Forgive me my dear Katie, but I must leave your company to work my magic," Kyubi gave an arrogant smirk, Katie rolled her eyes.

"I'll get the first aid-kit," at this comment Kyubi narrowed his eyes, before moving to cross the street, Katie shook her head, before a farting noise reminded her of Cheeksqueek's presence, "Um, thanks for coming, you can go now."

* * *

Emerald sighed as she walked down the path to school, Nate said today he would show her how to deal with a yo-kai problem, though personally she still didn't know how to feel about this Loop, or it's Anchor.

No matter how she looked at it, Nate, or Keita (that was still confusing for her…) didn't come off as someone she felt deserved her respect. He had it easy, other than the weird spirit-stuff, he lived as an ordinary kid. His world wasn't under imminent threat, his power was to take away the abilities of others, he didn't even have to worry about _death_ …

Emerald quickly shook those thoughts off, she would have to get used to this kid. She was going to be stuck in this Loop for… who knows how long (she would need to ask him how long it usually lasted…), and with him being Cinder's brother, he was going to come up again eventually. No matter how much she disliked him, she would have to get along with him.

"Well, hello there," a suave-voice interrupted Emerald's inner-thoughts, she blinked before looking over at a boy the same age as her, with grayish-blond colored hair, looking her over with interest, "What's a lovely lady like you doing out by your lonesome?"

"Um… going to school?" the visiting Looper rose a brow as she looked at this boy, she could already tell he was trying to flirt with her… and she didn't know how to feel about that.

"Oh, of course, going to further your education. Obviously, it's destined that one of such beauty, would have brains as well!"

' _Who_ _ **is**_ _this guy…?_ ' Emerald thought with a sweatdrop.

"Emerald, right?"

"Huh?" Emerald blinked in confusion, "Yes…"

"Aw, what a lovely name, and quite appropriate for one such as you; with your fair-green hair fluttering in the breeze, and your eyes that sparkle like gemstones," Kyubi took Emerald's hand and kissed it, "My name is Kyubi, it is a magnificent pleasure to make your acquaintance…"

Emerald stared at Kyubi for a few moments, he stood holding her hand with his head down, eyes closed, and a charming smile on his face, finally curiosity got the best of Emerald and she let out a Ping, Kyubi noticeably twitched.

"Um okay, so you're a Looper too," Emerald pulled her hand away, Kyubi opened his eyes and looked at her blankly, "I can't say I didn't _get_ what you were trying to convey there, but I can say that it pretty much confirms that I am definitely gay… So, thanks, I guess."

Kyubi looked like he needed a second to process this, his expression morphed from blank, to shocked, before he coughed and regained his confident look.

"Er, of course! That was my intention all along! Why I could tell just by Looking at you that you were having some internal issues, and being the kind soul that I am, I wished to help a fellow Looper out!" Kyubi let out a chuckle, "Why, if you didn't fall to my charms, it indeed confirms that you do not fancy men, there is no denying it!"

"I guess so, I mean, my feelings for Cinder were kind of complicated but I wasn't entirely sure, now I at least understand myself a bit more," at the mention of Cinder, Kyubi seemed to stiffen up, a look of fear on his face, a pair of fox ears and nine tails appeared on his body in a burst of smoke, Emerald almost thought Kyubi had spontaneously transformed into a faunus, before she remembered what world this was and realized he must have been another yo-kai.

"Did you just say Cin-Cin-Cinder?" Kyubi stuttered nervously, he started to sweat as he looked Emerald over carefully, he suddenly realized exactly _who_ this girl was, and that she wasn't just _any_ Emerald… "W-Well, I, um, aim to please!" Kyubi let out a few nervous chuckles, Emerald looked at him curiously, "Of course, when you speak to your friends back home about your self-realization, feel no need to credit me, I'm happy enough just to have helped…" Kyubi nervously looked around, almost afraid that Cinder would pop out any moment now, if she found out about this there was no way she wouldn't know what he was actually trying to do…

Emerald looked at Kyubi with suspicion, a realization seemed to strike her, he was _afraid_ of Cinder… the Looping girl felt a smirk creeping onto her face, which she quickly hid.

"Oh, well that won't do Mr. Kyubi," Emerald waved her hand, trying to sound as naïve as possible, "it wouldn't be right if I didn't tell my friends of your selfless assistance to me, especially _Cinder_ , she cares about me _a lot_ after all, and I'm sure she'd want to thank you _personally_."

"Th-That won't be necessary!" as Kyubi stuttered, his form was covered by a burst of smoke as his disguise broke down to reveal his true.

"Oh, but I simply _must_!" Emerald showed her smirk as she looked at the fox-spirit, "Your honorable deeds must be properly credited! It would be _unjust_ to do otherwise!"

"No, no they…" Kyubi looked around, trying to think of something to say, anything, that would get Emerald to agree _never to speak of this to Cinder,_ _ **ever!**_ Finally, the S-rank yo-kai swallowed his pride, getting onto his knees, in a begging-position, "Please! Don't say anything, what do you want!? I'll give you whatever I can! Just don't tell Cinder!"

On that day Emerald learned two useful pieces of information. 1; even in the Loops, there were still beings that feared Cinder, and 2; she could use that to her advantage…

* * *

"Who says birds and snakes can't get along?" Nate smiled as he sent Buhu off with her new companion; Noko.

"Thank you, Nate, with Noko by my side I won't be causing people as much trouble anymore," Buhu smiled.

"Noko!" the Noko nodded cheerfully, hopping off with Buhu not far behind, Emerald watched this scene with her arms crossed, her yo-kai watch having revealed the presence of the two creatures.

"And, that's one way to deal with a yo-kai problem," the Anchor stated as he came to the visiting Looper's side, "Wish I thought of pairing up yo-kai that cancel each other's powers out in Baseline, but what can you do?"

"… I still don't know what to make of you," Emerald stated bluntly.

"Duly noted," Nate nodded with a grin, which just frustrated Emerald.

"I don't get you, you have the power to disable all of these 'yo-kai's' abilities, don't you? Why don't you just block them all out from messing with you?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Nate shrugged, walking through the hall, Emerald groaned.

"This world is started to nauseate me…"

"Well, with that attitude, Nate will never respect you," at the sudden voice, Emerald turned to see a girl she recognized from class and had seen walking with that 'Kyubi' guy…

"Don't talk about me as if I'm not within earshot, Katie," Nate chided from down the hall, Katie chuckled.

"I assume you're another Looper," Emerald grunted, looking Katie over skeptically, she just gave the green-haired girl a friendly smile.

"Yeah, Katie Forester, AKA Fumika Kodama, nice to officially meet you!"

"Likewise, I guess," Emerald shrugged, shaking Katie's hand, "Weren't you with that fox-guy earlier?"

"Yup, that's my good friend Kyubi," Katie shrugged with a humorous expression, "Sorry about his behavior, but that's just who he is, I've tried more times than I can count to try and get him to at least drop all the cliché pick-up lines, but what can you do?"

"Is there a reason you're talking to me?" Emerald crossed her arms with a suspicious look, she glanced down the hall and noted that the Anchor was gone, probably to let the two talk in private, "And what did you mean about getting his respect? I could care less if that guy respects me."

"Correction, you care about his opinion of you, because his opinion matters to Cinder," Katie smiled, Emerald narrowed her eyes.

"Cinder won't change her opinion of me based on what her 'brother' thinks, he doesn't even live in our Branch, he's not even really her brother, in fact, he should be worried about _my_ influence on Cinder if he crosses me too much…" Emerald grunted, Katie tilted her head with an innocent smile.

"Oh, what does that mean?"

"Make no mistake, I can't tell Cinder what to do or think, but I'm sure she values my opinion over some kid from another world who plays the part of a brother to her, I can at least buy that Ruby and Yang have a true sibling relationship with Cinder with how much time she at least must spend around Ruby," the visiting Looper shrugged, "But this guy? All I need to do is show Cinder how pathetic he really is, and she'll get over the whole 'brother' thing pretty quickly, I'm sure, and she'll probably be able to convince Ruby and Yang the same, than it's goodbye smug-ghost-brat, no more siblings for you," Katie kept staring at Emerald with her smile, Emerald blinked, "So… he best just watch his step."

"… You really think it would be that simple?"

"Huh?" Emerald looked towards Katie, who's smile had grown unnerving.

"Loopers can remember things for _a lot_ longer than normal people, bonds can stay strong through _billions_ of years of not seeing each other. Do you really think Cinder would call Nate her brother if she didn't genuinely care about him?"

"Well…" Emerald was unsure what to say, Katie placed a hand on her shoulder, with a grip Emerald found slightly uncomfortable.

"You should really be careful Emerald, Cinder cares a lot about you, and Nate cares a lot about Cinder, so I won't do anything to you… but just remember this, _I_ care a lot about Nate," Katie held out her hand, a few sparks dancing across her fingers, "And I'm not the kind of person you want to be on the bad side of…"

"… Are you threatening me?"

"Me? Threatening you? Of course not," Katie let out a friendly laugh, patting Emerald on the back, before her eyes narrowed, flashing pink, "I'm _warning_ you…"

* * *

"Hey, Em! Something wrong?" Nate asked with a smile, walking up to the girl sitting on the bench by the river.

"Don't call me 'Em!'" Emerald snapped with an annoyed look.

"Okay, what's wrong, _Emmy?_ " the Anchor gave a teasing smirk as Emerald fumed, before looking away from him, "Did Katie say anything to you that put you on edge?"

"What? Of course not!" the visiting Looper shook her head, trying not to look at Nate.

"Than what are you doing just sitting over here, by yourself?" Emerald narrowed her eyes at the Anchor's concern.

"Nothing is wrong! I just don't want to deal with you or any of those freaky spirits for a little bit! Leave me alone!"

"Fine, fine, just call me if you need anything," Nate shrugged, before pulling out a medal and flipping it over to her.

"What is this…?" she stared at the medal, which depicted a blue ghost, with a hair-style similar to the Anchor's.

"That's my yo-kai medal, just summon me with your yo-kai watch if you need me and I'm too far away for convenience," Emerald looked at Nate skeptically at that explanation, "Just be wary that it _literally_ rips my soul from my body, so don't summon me arbitrarily…"

"Er… thanks," Emerald pocketed the medal.

"See ya!" Nate waved, before speeding off, leaving a few rose petals behind. Emerald grunted and shook her head, looking out at the water.

"He can be a little pushy, can't he?" the green-haired girl blinked in confusion at the sudden voice, before looking around, "Over here!" she looked into the water, spotting what looked like a small girl waving at her.

"Let me guess, Looper?" Emerald sighed, she didn't want to deal with another of these guys…

"Name's Mermaidyn, though I also go by Ningyo sometimes," she swam closer to the shore, Emerald could see that her bottom half was a fish-tail, she narrowed her eyes.

"Another _yo-kai?_ "

"Well, excuse my species," Mermaidyn huffed, Emerald sighed and got up from her seat.

"I'm not dealing with you…"

"Look, I get that you're annoyed with our Loop, frankly I am too a lot of the time," at this statement, Emerald turned back to the mermaid-like creature, "And, my guess is your previous encounters with our Loopers wasn't very good either…"

"Other than that brat of an Anchor and those three house guests of his?" Emerald muttered, crossing her arms and glaring at Mermaidyn, "Some sleazy fox that tried to hit on me, and a _psychotic_ little girl who I feel belongs in a horror movie!"

"Oh… Kyubi, I understand," the local Looper nodded, having had to deal with the nine-tailed fox habits many times herself, "But… 'psychotic' little girl? I'm going to assume you must mean Hailey…"

"No!" Emerald snapped with an annoyed look, "I mean that crazy Katie! Or whatever her name was!"

"… Katie?" Mermaidyn looked very confused for a moment, before she suddenly seemed to realize something, "… What did you do to tick her off?"

"Huh?"

"With what I know about Katie, the only way you could possibly have gotten that kind of impression of her is if you did, or said something to make her angry…"

"Are you trying to interrogate me?"

"Just trying to understand, don't get so defensive…"

"Well I'm getting really sick of older Loopers trying to 'understand' me, or 'help' me, or whatever else!" Emerald growled, she and Mermaidyn kept glaring at one another, "Just leave me alone…"

"… Fine, all I wanted was to help a bit, but I suppose I was wrong to try. Farewell…" in a splash, Mermaidyn was gone. Emerald sighed.

"What weirdo am I going to have to deal with next…?"

"Spoiler-alert! It's Hailey and USApyon!" a small, ballerina-like being, twirled by with an innocent smile, Emerald stared.

"… Okay, now what's that thing!?"

* * *

"Another day, another weird yo-kai…" Emerald muttered as she leaned against a wall in the mall, having been dragged there by Nate, along with Katie, and two of his annoying, non-Looping friends. Now the Anchor was negotiating with some weird, floating, one eyed clam…

"So anyway, we were planning on spending our money anyway, there's no need to mess with our day," the brown-haired boy assured the yo-kai, Spenp seemed to consider his words.

"Who is Nate talking to?" Bear whispered to Eddie with a confused expression.

"Nate's talking to a yo-kai that was going to mess up our day, so be grateful," Katie interjected with an innocent smile, causing the two boys to look at her blankly.

"Yo-kai? You can't be serious, Katie…" Eddie muttered in disbelief, Emerald let out a sigh as she watched, she _really_ didn't want to be here, why wouldn't that dumb kid just leave her alone?

"I'M IN!" a loud voice suddenly exclaimed, before a purple-haired girl with glasses rushed into the mall and over to the group, just as the yo-kai Spenp had given Nate his medal and left, "I'm Awake! Who's feeling Loopy!?"

The response to this, was for all except for Nate, Katie and Emerald to stare at the new arrival with confusion, the remaining three simultaneously face-palming.

"Hailey, you sure seem pretty Loopy, just shouting that out of nowhere, but I'm pretty well Anchored," Nate stated, walking over to the newcomer and shaking his head.

"Do we know her? I don't remember seeing her?" Bear asked while scratching his head.

"I think I've seen her at school, but I'm pretty sure she goes to a different class than us," Eddie commented, watching Nate speak to the girl, "She must be Nate's friend…"

"First Emerald? Now her?" Bear crossed his arms, "Why does Nate keep bringing girls into our group?" Bear suddenly felt a shiver go down his spine, "Well, Katie's different, she's been in our group since forever…" the feeling went away, "But, this is getting a little weird…"

"You're all weird," Emerald muttered under her breath.

"Oh, is that Emerald!?" before Emerald knew what was going on, Hailey was up in her face, "Hi! So you're Looping now too? Right!?"

"Hailey, stop talking…" Nate hissed, glancing at Eddie and Bear, who looked even more lost now…

"Hey, guys! Why don't we head on ahead to the game store, leave Nate here to introduce his two friends!" Katie suddenly put a hand on both boys' shoulders, pulling them along.

"Wait, hold on!" Eddie cried out.

"What is happening!?" Bear exclaimed.

"Catch up when you can guys!" Katie called back, dragging the two away. Nate let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Katie…" he muttered, before looking back to Emerald, who was currently trying to move away from the overeager Hailey.

"Can you make any kind of illusion!? Because I would like to see myself as a magical girl, could you do that!? Huh!? Huh!?" Emerald's eye twitched as this girl kept talking, Nate was about to step in, but someone else beat him to it.

"Hailey, get off her, dani!" USApyon cried out as he charged over, making himself visible to Emerald.

"Oh great, another one," Emerald muttered, feeling a headache coming on. Hailey turned her attention to the otter yo-kai, giving the visiting Looper an opportunity to get away from her.

"When did you get over here, USApyon?"

"I Woke up not to long ago and found a Mirapo, dani…"

"More of your Loopers," Emerald concluded as she walked over to Nate, sending a glare his way.

"Yeah, please excuse Hailey, she can be a little… overzealous," The Anchor shrugged, Emerald groaned.

"Why'd you interrupt USApyon!? I wanted to talk more with Emerald?" Hailey asked her yo-kai friend, whom gave her a dull look in response.

"Sounded more like you were harassing her, dani…"

"I'm getting tired of all your Loopers showing up to bother me…" Emerald gave the Anchor a critical look.

"Look, this is our Loop, so just _try_ to get along with them," Nate sighed, before he started heading in the direction of the game store, "I'm going to try and clear up confusions with Eddie and Bear, just stick around for a bit, I promise we'll have fun!" as he left, Emerald let out a huff.

"'Fun?' Who does he think he is anyway…" she glanced at Hailey and USApyon, who were still arguing, she smirked a little, "Hmm… maybe I can have some fun…"

* * *

" **INVADER MODE!"**

"I REGRET EVERYTHING!" Emerald cried out as an enraged USApyon used the Force to toss her through a wall, before chasing after her with a red lightsaber.

"DON'T LOOK HIM IN THE EYES! JUST RUN!" Hailey called, Emerald did as she suggested, USApyon not far behind. Nate and Katie walked over to Hailey, staring at the hole in the wall, before looking at her.

"… What did you do?" the Anchor asked blankly.

"Why do you assume it was me!?"

* * *

"I hate these people! I hate these yo-kai! I hate this Loop!" Emerald cried out herself as she hid in an alleyway, USApyon luckily didn't seem to be following her anymore.

"What are you so upset about?" Emerald blinked, before looking down and seeing what appeared to be a small brown dog, with a man's face, staring at her, "… GAH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

"That's not very nice…" Manjimutt muttered.

* * *

"Oh, there you are, Emerald!" it was sundown when Nate found Emerald sitting on a park bench, accompanied by the Koma brothers, "I see you've met Komasan and Komajiro."

"Yeah… more weirdos that won't leave me alone," Emerald stated bluntly, the two komainu looked at her with concerned expressions, before glancing at each other.

"Brother, are we weirdos?" Komasan asked innocently, Komajiro seemed to consider this for a moment.

"By human standards? Yes, by komainu standards?" Komajiro seemed to think for a moment more, "… Also yes, since we don't guard a shrine, and we are Loopers and all…"

"What about Looper standards?" Komasan questioned.

"Nobody's a 'weirdo' by Looper standards…" Nate interjected, glancing at the two yo-kai curiously, "How did you two end up with Emerald?"

"We found her freaking out around downtown…" Komasan answered with a smile, Emerald twitched and glared at him.

"I was not 'freaking out!' I just wanted to escape that psycho rabbit!"

"Otter," Nate corrected.

"Huh?"

"USApyon is an otter, not a rabbit…" Nate and Emerald stared at each other for a moment.

"… Whatever," the visiting Looper sighed, "I finally got away from him when I ran into some sort of freakish mutant in an alleyway! Like a man-dog hybrid! What is _wrong_ with your Loop!?"

"… I suppose Manjimutt is a little unsettling if you've never seen him before," Nate muttered to himself in thought, before looking Emerald's way again, "So after that you encountered these two?"

"Yeah, and they made me come here," Emerald crossed her arms with an annoyed look.

"We had ice cream!" Komasan cheered.

"Of course you did…" the Anchor rolled his eyes.

"Not by my choice…" the green-haired girl grunted.

"Guys, why don't you head on home, I think Emerald's not in a good mood," Nate suggested, Komasan and Komajiro glanced at him.

"Oh… okay, you sure there ain't anything we can do to help?" Komasan questioned.

"No, I don't think so, not at this time, I'll handle this," The Anchor stated, the brothers shrugged before leaving.

"Hope you have a fun time for the rest of the Loop, Emerald!" Komasan waved as they left, Komajiro nodding along the way. Emerald grumbled under her breath as Nate took a seat beside her.

"So… not having a good time?"

"What do you think!?" Emerald glared at the boy, whom gave her a sheepish smile that just annoyed her further.

"I'm sorry about USApyon, he has an easy to push berserk button," Nate explained with a bit of a sigh, "Even after all this time, Hailey still can't seem to avoid pushing it _every single Loop_ , though I think she just refuses to learn from experience…"

"I don't care," Emerald kept glaring, "Not about your Loopers, this Loop, or anything you have to say to me…" they sat in silence for a few more moments, before Emerald let out a sigh, her glare softening, "I know you want me to have a fun time here, but… I just really don't like this place, or you."

"… I know," Nate admitted in a defeated tone.

"You just… make me angry…" Emerald's fist balled as she closed her eyes, "You're just a _kid_ , a normal kid, sure you have all this yo-kai nonsense, but that never really gets in the way of you being a kid! You just make friends with them and move on," Emerald opened her eyes again, looking straight at the Anchor, "And you humiliated me! I couldn't even do anything against you, you left me powerless! _Dying_ doesn't even faze you! I know dying isn't really a big deal for Loopers, but for you it was even before that! You died in your Baseline, and it didn't matter!"

"… It mattered a little." Nate looked away, this surprised Emerald a bit. "I'm sorry Emerald… I know I apologized for the fight before, but maybe that wasn't enough, I thought getting you to enjoy this Loop would make up for it, but I guess that didn't work…"

"… I guess not," Emerald looked unsure if she should say anything else. "… What do you mean by 'it mattered a little?'" Emerald suddenly asked, Nate froze up and seemed to be internally debating if he wanted to answer.

"… I don't really like to talk about this, but…" the Anchor let out a sigh, "For the first few Loops after the Expansion where I got my yo-kai form… I was really freaked out."

"How so?"

"How so? Emerald, I _died!_ " Nate took a deep breath, Emerald giving him a confused look, "You said it yourself, I'm a kid… even after being the Anchor of this Branch for so long, I'm still a kid, I wasn't ready to die."

"But you became a yo-kai, and you came back to life, didn't you?" the green-haired girl pointed out, now looking a bit curious.

"Yes, but… that doesn't change the fact that it _happened_ , and not just as a random Loop, but something ingrained into Baseline," Nate let out another sigh, "At eleven-years-old, I fell down a manhole, hit the concrete below, and died…"

"I suppose that's not something you like thinking about," Emerald concluded softly.

"Sometimes I talk to Rudy about it…" he noticed Emerald looking confused, "Jibanyan… or Katie, since she's been in my place so many times, but I prefer just not to bring it up…" he smiled a little, "It's not so big a deal anymore, I've lived, and died, with it for so long it's hard to not get used to it, especially since I can just leave my body now without issue, but that time when it was new was… scary."

"I suppose I can understand that…" Emerald let out a bit of a sigh, "Sorry, maybe I should know better than to take things are face-value by now…"

"It's not an issue, I didn't give you much reason to believe otherwise," the Anchor smiled, Emerald smiled a bit as well.

"… I still don't like you, though," she stated firmly, "And even if you might, _potentially_ not be so bad, at least two of your Loopers are definitely _psychopaths!_ "

"Katie _really_ isn't that bad, you should try talking to her again…"

"I'm not so sure about that. But, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed if you wanted to show more of the Loop to me."

"Noted Emerald, noted," Nate nodded with a bit of a laugh, Emerald rolled her eyes, but chuckled a little too.

* * *

Emerald was walking home after school, the Loop had been getting better for her since her talk with Nate.

Katie seemed to have lost whatever aggression she had towards her, Hailey hadn't been so annoying, and she hadn't seen USApyon since the incident at the mall. Plus, having Kyubi as her servant was a nice plus, he _really_ didn't want her to tell Cinder about him hitting on her…

Emerald let out a little chuckle as she continued, though he thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling her.

"Hello young lady! How has everything been!?" Emerald blinked, looking around before spotting a small, shadowy figure sitting in a tree, watching her.

"… Yo-kai Looper?" she guessed with a small sigh.

"Correct!" he smiled, before jumping from the tree and preforming some sort of super hero pose, "Moxy!"

"… Moxy?"

"Hey, grandpa, don't confuse our visitor," Nate interjected as he walked over, Emerald was now even more confused.

"… Grandpa?"

"Oh, right!" the Anchor nodded, before gesturing to the small yo-kai, "This is my grandpa, he dies before our Loop normally starts, but he sticks around," Nate explained with a smile, Emerald looked unnerved by this, "Normally I meet him when he's a kid with time travel…"

"But, I Woke up extra-early this Loop, and took care of the wicked yo-kai problem, so no need to time travel this Loop," Nathaniel assured.

"Yeah, so you don't need to worry about that headache," the Anchor nodded, Emerald grunted and looked away from them both, only to see some sort of green, humanoid creature, with its fingers up its nose, staring at her.

"Hello…"

"GAH!" Emerald jumped back in shock, Nate chuckled.

"Oh right, that's my son, Snottle."

"… Your son… your _son?_ " Emerald seemed to be disbelief as she repeated this to herself.

"Hi dad! Hi great-grandpa!" Snottle briefly stopped picking his nose to wave.

"Hello Snottle!" Nathaniel waved happily, before bowing to Emerald, "Sorry for not meeting up with you sooner, Hovernyan and I have been tracking down the remains of the Wicked Yo-kai army for the past sixty years, but I figured I should say hello at least once before the Loop ends!"

"Hovernyan, who's Hovernyan? Another Looper?" Emerald questioned warily, Nathaniel shook his head.

"No, but he's a good friend of mine anyway! Hey, Hovernyan! Come and meet a friend of my grandson!" Nathaniel called out.

"I'm not exactly his friend…" Emerald muttered to herself, just as a blue, cat-like yo-kai with a cape floated over, doing a heroic pose and speaking in a deep voice.

"Hello! I am Hovernyan!"

"… Right," the visiting Looper sighed, Nate let out a little chuckle as he sweatdropped, Snottle just stared blankly as he kept picking his nose.

"Nathaniel explained the time travel stuff, though we never had to use it! I still have the time-stone!" Hovernyan exclaimed, holding up a small stone with a swirl pattern on it.

"Again with that Doraemon act of yours?" Whisper floated over from behind Nate, his arms crossed.

"I have no idea what that means!" Hovernyan exclaimed with an unchanged expression.

"Is this Loop ending soon?" Emerald asked Nate with a tired expression.

"Should be at least a few more months…" the Anchor thought for a moment, Emerald let out another sigh, but she did smile a little.

"I think I can live with that…"

 **8.18 Boohoooo!**

(Yo-Kai Watch X Super Mario Bros.)

Manjimutt blinked as he Awoke and noticed he was in a fancy office.

"Hmm... interesting..." The dog-faced Yokai mused, checking his Loop Memories. He blinked upon getting up to date.

"Huh... I'm the President of Level-5. This could be fun." Manjimutt chuckled.

Three hours of paperwork later…

"Nevermind." Manjimutt muttered.

"MANJIMUTT! HELP ME!" Hailey exclaimed, running past being chased by USApyon.

"...No." Manjimutt deadpanned. He got a call and answered, tuning out Hailey's sputters as she was force-choked.

"Hey, is your refrigerator running?" A gruff voice snickered.

"... Is this Wario?" Manjimutt deadpanned.

"CRUD! HE'S ONTO US!" Wario shouted, hanging up. Manjimutt stared at the phone, unsure how to react.

"Mr. Manjimutt, Sonic the Hedgehog is here threatening a lawsuit." Cadin explained, walking in wearing a stereotypical sexy secretary outfit.

"Thanks, mis- er, Mr. Cadin." Manjimutt murmured, going to investigate.

 **8.19**

"Why is this happening!?" Katie cried out as she, Nate and Whisper hid under a table in the school cafeteria, while all the other kids were relentlessly throwing pies at each other, Whisper searched through the yo-kai pad while Nate and Katie looked around with their yo-kai watches.

"There!" the Anchor exclaimed, shining his watch's light towards the center of the room, where a familiar yo-kai became visible, "… Is that a Shmoopie?"

"It's holding a pie…" Katie pointed out, another glance at it confirmed for Nate that it was holding a pie, instead of the heart the yo-kai usually did.

"I've got it!" Whisper suddenly exclaimed, before showing the children his yo-kai pad, "All of your classmates have been inspirited by Shmoo-pie!"

"Shmoo- _pie_ …?" the two kids had deadpan expressions as they stared at the ghost, suddenly, all three of them were hit in the face by pies.

"HA! Got you!" Hailey gloated before running off…

 **8.20 GarnettFoxy**

[Yo-Kai Watch/Scooby Doo]

Nate froze and groaned as Terror Time asserted it's self on the world. He was not looking forward to running from oni ag-

"Is that rock music?" Nate questioned as music started to fill the air. He blinked as four adults and a dog ran past in a panic "Wait how did adults get in–?"

"Like kid RUN FOR IT!" The guy in a green shirt yelled Nate staring at him still befuddled by the music and adults in Terror Time. He yelped as the ground shook paling when he realized the oni was running right for–

He blinked as the oni ran past him in its own panic. Morbidly curious about what could scare an oni Nate peered around the corner and paled before chasing after the two grounds. "ZOMBIE PIRATES?! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ZOMBIE PIRATES!?"

 **8.21**

[Yo-kai Watch/Pokémon]

"Hey Whisper, so you finally replaced Rotomdex?" Ash smiled as he and Pikachu looked at the visiting Looper as they stood in Prof. Kukui's home.

"This is so strange, it's like I've been fused with my yo-kai pad! Whis." The white rotomdex commented, moving around quickly as he tried to get used to the mechanical body.

"Yeah, I was just telling Ash something like that a few Loops ago, see Ash, he thinks so too!" the Anchor exclaimed, waving his arm around, Ash sighed.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can find Keita, there were about four other Pings, one of them might be him! Whis!" the currently ghost-electric type exclaimed, before quickly floating towards the wall.

"Wait Whisper! You can't– "Pikachu started, but he and Ash winced when the visiting Looper crashed into the wall, "Go through walls… in that body…"

"You don't say…? Whis…" Whisper muttered dizzily.

 **8.22**

[Yo-kai Watch/Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]

"Halloween again, what to dress as?" Nate muttered, subtly skimming through his pocket.

"Why not just wear what you wear in Baseline? Like Jibanyan?" Whisper questioned, before gesturing to the nekomata that was standing nearby.

"I'm Dracunyan! Blah! I'll suck your blood!" Jibanyan chuckled as he put on the act, Nate smiled.

"Hey! You can't be Dracunyan, only Dracunyan is Dracunyan!" a deep voice suddenly came from the window, the three Loopers blinked, before looking over to see an actual Dracunyan climb through the window.

"What the…?" Nate muttered, before Dracunyan walked up to the dumbfounded Jibanyan.

"Let me tell you all the ways you ain't Dracunyan!"

"Um…" Jibanyan looked to his friends for help.

"First of all, Dracunyan ain't no dummy! Second, Dracunyan don't suck blood! Dracunyan scrape and lick! See?" the vampiric nekomata proceeded to make the motion of his teeth scraping, before licking the air.

"Well… I didn't knyow that," Jibanyan muttered.

"Me either," Whisper shrugged, Nate let out an annoyed sigh, feeling that this would take a while.

"Next, Dracunyan don't wear no cheap, Halloween-store cape! See this? That's real silk!"

 **8.23**

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch]

"Onward Greta! Slaughter all that stand in the path of victory!" Nate cheered as he rode on the giant deathstalker, plowing through the Emerald Forest, and all smaller grimm, with ease.

"… He tamed the deathstalker, _again!?_ " Weiss questioned from nearby, a completely blank look on her face.

"Wait, 'again!?'" Ilia; currently replacing Blake, looked unsure how to respond to this comment.

"Yeah! Go little bro!" an UnAwake Yang cheered loudly. Nate laughed as Greta tossed several ursa into the distance.

"Somebody please help me!" Jaune (also UnAwake) cried out, hanging from the deathstalker's stinger.

"Don't worry, you're in no danger," Nate assured, before gaining a manic grin, "Now, let's go clip that giant nevermore's wings off!" Greta gave a strange noise in approval, before continuing to charge forward.

 **8.24**

Inaho hummed a bit to herself when she Woke up, it seemed she was the last to leave class since the classroom was empty, save for her…

The purple-haired girl let out a Ping, she only got one response back, she tried to open her pocket for a yo-kai watch, but was unable to, "Huh? Null-Loop…?" the sound of the classroom door opening caught her attention, she spotted the Anchor entering with a fearful expression, before focusing on her.

"Inaho, are you… feeling Loopy?" he spoke carefully, glancing around.

"Yup! I most certainly am Keita-kun, so just you and me? Guess you'll need to include me in whatever adventure you have this Loop, huh," Inaho let out a humorous chuckle, though Keita seemed more on edge than anything, frantically motioning for her to be quiet, "… What's with you?"

"Keita-kun, where are you…?" Fumika's voice called out from the hall, the Anchor stiffened, Inaho looked at him with confusion.

"Isn't that Fumika? Why is she looking for you?"

"Just be quiet, and don't let her know I'm here," Keita hissed, though the warning came a bit too late, as the door behind him opened and a brown-haired girl walked in, a kitchen knife in hand.

"So, this is what you're doing Keita-kun? Seeing other girls behind my back, huh?" Fumika gave a crooked grin as she approached the duo, Keita nervously stepped back.

"Y-you've got the wrong idea Fumi-chan, um…" Keita was frantically looking around for an escape, Inaho smiled obliviously.

"Oh, hey Fumika! What's going on… why do you have a kitchen knife?"

"Inaho, run! She's crazy!" Keita shouted in urgency.

"Huh?" the purple-haired girl blinked in confusion.

"Inaho, huh? You think you can just steal my Keita-kun, huh!?" Fumika kept smiling, but Inaho felt a sudden air of dread as Fumika stared at her.

"Er… steal Keita…? Oh! No, Fumika, you got it all wrong!" Inaho laughed nervously as she backed away from the approaching knife-wielding girl, "Keita's my best friend, we're like family! No romance going on here…"

"Well, family can get in the way of love too…" Katie let out an innocent giggle, that just made Inaho and Keita more uneasy.

"I said run! Run now!" Keita shouted, opening another of the doors and running into the hall, seeing Fumika's grip on her weapon tightening, Inaho seemed to realize what the Anchor was getting at…

"Well, so good to see you Fumi-chan, but I need to get home! Bye!" Inaho sped off, just missing Fumika attempting to stab her.

 **8.25**

"Great, Terror Time again…" Keita sighed as the world lost all color, the UnAwake Whisper and Jibanyan cowering behind him, "Would you guys relax, I told you the oni are no match for me…"

"You keep saying stuff like that, Keita-kun, yet I still find it very hard to believe, whissu!" Whisper exclaimed fearfully, the Anchor sighed.

"It's coming, nya…" Jibanyan whimpered as the ground started to shake, Keita pulled Spectral Fang from his pocket, standing in a combat-ready stance.

"Aka…" an Aka Oni growled as he came stomping down the street.

"Halt!" the oni stopped in its tracks, its eyes going wide, Jibanyan and Whisper shared a confused look, while Keita just looked surprised.

"What the… Fumi-chan!?"

"Hi Keita-kun!" the Looping girl smiled as she stepped out from behind the oni, a golden crown decorating her head, letting out a Ping, "I was just making sure that _somebody_ wasn't going to ruin my friend's day…" she glared at the oni, who got on its knees and started begging for forgiveness.

"Oh, she's being the 'Oni Queen' again…" Keita muttered to himself with a blank expression.

"Oni… Queen… whissu?" Whisper blinked, Keita nodded.

"Come on, we shouldn't have trouble with onis for a while," the Anchor assured his friends as he dragged them off, while Fumika kept berating the oni about 'proper behavior.'

 **8.26**

[RWBY/Yo-kai Watch]

"I know we don't all end up in Remnant at the same time very often, especially not during a Chibi Loop, but why are you dragging me!?" Nate cried out as Hailey cheerfully dragged him by the arm, through the Emerald Forest. "I want to spend time with my sisters!"

"That's the problem, Natey, that's all you want to do when you're here!" Hailey exclaimed with a big smile, Nate scowled.

"Don't call me 'Natey…'"

"But you can't just neglect your partner for the Loop! We need to train together!" Hailey continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"No, we don't, it's a _Chibi Loop_!" the Yo-kai Watch Anchor protested, Hailey just happily hummed to herself as she continued, Nate sighed, considering if he should just break free…

"Huh? Nate, look!" Hailey suddenly looked excited, Nate looked to where she was pointing, and blinked at the sight of a big, red button, on a tree…

"Hailey… I know what you're probably thinking, but– "

"BIG BUTTON!" the purple-haired girl paid the boy no mind, slamming her hand on the button, Nate winced as he expected something to explode, but a couple of seconds passed with nothing happening.

"… Huh, well that wasn't– "Nate started, before he froze, twitched, and was suddenly engulfed by a puff of black smoke.

"Nate…?" Hailey looked surprised, before the smoke cleared to reveal Nate had transformed into an oversized red caterpillar, with a somewhat disturbing version of Nate's regular head, and human hands coming out of the front segment of the body, "Um…"

"… I WILL KILL YOU HAILEY!" the bug-like yo-kai suddenly shouted, Hailey screamed and started running from the angry, transformed Anchor, "I WILL TEACH YOU NOT TO MESS WITH RANDOM BUTTONS! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN TEACH YOU A LESSON!"

"I'M SORRY!"

* * *

"Sorry, should've warned you about the button," Ruby sighed, Hailey hiding behind her with a paranoid look, while Yang was petting Nate's caterpillar body as he lay in her lap.

"Eh, this ain't so bad," the blond shrugged, Nate growled under his breath, "Come on Nate, you know I love you, my little… _bugger_ ," Yang cracked a smile, Nate glared at her, "… Yeah, that one wasn't very good, hold on," the older sister went into thought, Nate just grumbled some more.

"… Anyway, I suggest you and the rest of your Loopers stay away from any strange buttons when you end up in Chibi-Loops, got it?" Ruby crossed her arms while looking at Hailey.

"Yes, no more buttons!" the purple-haired girl nodded quickly, "… But, what about the rest of our Loopers that are here?" Ruby blinked.

"… Oh yeah."

"Got it!" Yang suddenly jumped.

"Ow…" Nate fell to the ground with a soft 'thump,' though he looked more annoyed than hurt, Yang just looked at him with a big smile.

"So bro, you know I'm a cat person, but I didn't expect you to turn out to be a _cat_ erpillar-person!" Yang kept smiling, the other three occupants of the room glared at her, "… Yeah, you're right, too easy…" the blond huntress resumed her thoughtful look, Nate and Ruby shared a groan.

* * *

"So, there's this big red button in the forest, that makes random junk happen?" Manjimutt asked as he and Qrow both sat at a bar, beers in front of them, and clearly drunk.

"Yeaaaaah… what of it, dog-man?" Qrow gave a drunken laugh, Manjimutt hiccupped, the bar-tended watched them both with a disturbed expression, mainly towards the yo-kai…

"… Let's go press it," Manjimutt almost whispered, taking a sip from his drink.

"I don't know, Winter doesn't want me messing with it anymore…" Qrow wobbled a bit as he looked at the other Looper, before smirking, "Let's do it…"

"Yeah! We're gonna do it!" Manjimutt cheered, they both laughed as they danced out of the bar, the bar-tender just watching blankly.

* * *

"What did you learn?" Winter questioned with narrowed eyes

"Don't go drinking in Loops where it affects me…?" Qrow sighed.

"Right, and don't disregard my warnings!" Winter nearly barked, which was ironic since Qrow's head was now on a black-furred, poodle body.

"I don't know, I feel pretty okay with the results," a fully human Manjimutt shrugged, Qrow glared at him before kicking him in the shin, "OW!"

* * *

Jibanyan and Zwei stood in front of the big red button stuck to the tree, the cat and dog blinked a few times, glancing at each other.

"So… dare me to press it, bro?" Jibanyan smirked.

"If I do, in all likelihood it will be _me_ who suffers for it," the corgi pointed out.

"True… and if I go and press it anyway after you said that, it will be _me_ who suffers, won't it?" Jibanyan scoffed as he glared at the button, Zwei nodded in affirmation. The nekomata hummed for a moment with a frustrated look, before his eyes widened in realization, "Wait a minyute… what if we… _didn't_ press it?"

"… Can we do that?" Zwei tilted his head questioningly, his nekomata friend shrugged.

"Only one way to find out…" the two stared at the button again, before nodding and beginning to walk away.

"Oh, Komajiro look! A big button!" Komasan cheered as he ran into the scene.

"Big brother! Wait!" Komajiro called out too late, Jibanyan and Zwei stared blankly as the white komainu jumped up and hit the button, a flash occurred.

"… Really!?" Jibanyan cried out, seeing that he had become a dog, Zwei gave a dissatisfied hiss at his now-feline form.

"I knew we couldn't escape fate…" the local looper grunted, the two glared at the komainu brothers.

"What gives, you two weren't even effected!" Jibayan barked, Komasan and Komajiro looked at each other briefly, before Komasan let out a cough.

"Not true, we were lion-dogs, and now we're dog-lions!" at his brother's exclamation, Komajiro facepalmed, Jibanyan and Zwei looked annoyed.

 **8.27**

[Yo-kai Watch/Kirby]

"Come on out my friend! Calling Kirby! Yo-kai Medal, do your thing!" Nate inserted a medal depicting a pink, spherical creature into the watch, before it activated.

" **Summoning Charming! Alarming, boom, boom! Walla, walla, dance, dance, Charming!"**

"Kirby! Kirby!" the pink puff-ball cheered after appearing, the wicked yo-kai army did not look impressed.

"What sort of joke is this? I thought you wanted to save your friend!" Dame Dedtime let out an evil laugh, Nate smirked, looking towards Kirby.

"Kirby, if you would," the local Anchor offered, Kirby let out another cheer before he held up his little, nub-arms, and a pink heart-shape formed. Dame Dedtime looked confused, before Kirby started throwing the hearts at all the wicked yo-kai.

"What sort of attack is this!?" the wicked yo-kai boss questioned, before one of the hearts hit a loiter, turning it yellow. Dame Dedtime watched in shock as her minion happily flew over to Kirby's side, "WHAT!?"

More and more hearts flew through the air, hitting the wicked yo-kai servants that floated around, all of them changed to either yellow, blue or green when a heart hit, and they all went over to the little, pink creature's side when they did.

"NO! What is this!? STOP THAT THING!" the boss yo-kai cried out, but the only ones left on her side were Kin, Gin and Bronzlow, who were all being overwhelmed, "NO!"

"Yes!" Nate smiled as the multi-colored wicked yo-kai freed Jibanyan from his cage.

"Hi!" Kirby waved happily, Dame Dedtime was about to attack the little puff-ball out of anger, only for her to find herself swarmed by her former minions as well. Nate and Kirby high-fived, Nathaniel, Hovernyan, Jibanyan and Whisper watched with varying looks of amazement and terror.

 **8.28 Darkflare75**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

Ozpin spoke into the Microphone "Attention students. As some of you might know with the spring season approaching we will have to contend with the yearly Migrations of the Grimm known as the Eastern Bunyips. Or as some people have taken to calling them the Easter Bunnies. These Grimm are known for constantly migrating west while laying brightly colored "eggs" that when disturbed explode with the force of a large dust crystal." Ozpin stopped to take a sip of his hot cocoa before continuing." Earlier this morning we received reports of Easter Bunnies being spotted in the Agricultural district. The hunters in that area believe that they have cleared out the infestation. however, since we are not sure how long the Bunnies were in the area or how many eggs have been laid it has been decided that Beacons students will be brought in to hunt down and detonate all of the eggs until we have ensured that the area is safe for the civilian population.

Nate looked over at his teammates Yang, Cinder, and Emerald. "You know its loops like this that make Ruby's fear of rabbits so much more reasonable."

His sisters and Emerald all nodded in agreement.

"Sigh, well let's go ruin Easter egg hunting for ourselves."

Yang smiled as she put an arm around Nate. "Come on baby bro it's not going to be that bad. How many missions do you get where the whole point is to set off explosives?"

Nate glared back. "That's easy for you to say. In my home loop, Easter eggs are filled with candy that kids go looking for. After this loop, I'm going to be paranoid that Yggdrasil downloaded one these eggs by mistake!"

 **8.29**

"I'm not doing this, dani!"

"Oh come on, you look so cute!"

"I'm not a rabbit! Dani!" USApyon glared angrily at Inaho, said girl just smiled back, "This is humiliating, I absolutely refuse! Dani!" the otter yo-kai tore at the white bunny suit he had been forced into, throwing the basket of candy and eggs on the ground.

"Please USApyon, just do this for me! Easter needs an Easter Bunny," Inaho pleaded, USApyon growled.

"That's the second stupidest excuse to dress me up in a humiliating costume I've ever heard! Dani!"

"Come on, just go around town and hide those eggs and treats, the kids will love it, nobody will see you anyway," the purple-haired girl reasoned with a cheerful grin, the blue-furred yo-kai gave her an angry look, before letting out a sigh.

"You are going to owe me a truck load of donuts for this, dani…"

"Understood!" Inaho cheered as her yo-kai companion begrudgingly went out into the town.

 **8.30**

Nate found himself standing against an army of wicked yo-kai minions, along with an UnAwake Whisper and Jibanyan, narrowing his eyes, the Anchor moved to pull Spectral Fang from his pocket.

"Hey!" a female voice, as well as the sound of a gunshot, halted all actions from both the Anchor, and his opposition, all turning to see the new combatant…

"Katie!?" Nate cried out in shock at the sight of his friend/crush, wielding a shotgun.

"Hi Nate!" the girl waved, before her eyes narrowed and she shot another bullet that the enemy yo-kai dodged, "Alright, listen up you ethereal degenerates, this is my BOOMSTICK!" another shot was fired, "And if there's one thing you should know about a boomstick, it's that you do not mess with a girl's boomstick!" another shot, at this point the wicked yo-kai were cowering.

"Wait, would guns even work on yo-kai?" Nate quietly questioned to himself, Whisper and Jibanyan were too shocked to say anything.

 **8.31**

"Okay, Keita, this has gone on long enough!" Keita stared blankly at the purple-haired girl that had decided to barge into his room, Whisper, Jibanyan and Hikikōmori weren't Awake this Loop, and Fumika had gotten the yo-kai watch, so nobody else was in the room.

"Inaho, what are you doing here? And what has 'gone on long enough?'" the Anchor asked in a clearly annoyed tone, Inaho didn't seem to notice.

"As your best friend I'm obligated to look out for you, especially when it comes to you getting your matesprit!"

"… Matesprit?" Keita looked both annoyed and confused at that comment, Inaho nodded, before her eyes widened a little.

"Oh, I just realized! You and I are totally moirails!" Keita stared at Inaho with a blank expression, before he came to a realization.

"… Oh! No! Stop!" the Anchor glared at the female Looper, "Keep that troll stuff out of our lives!" Inaho stared at him for a moment, crossing her arms.

"Keita, what's this about?"

"What's what about!? You're not making any sense!" Keita snapped angrily, Inaho let out a sigh,

"Fumika!"

"… What about Fumika?" the brown-haired boy questioned, averting his eyes from the intruder.

"What about her? You like her, she likes you, you both _know_ the other likes you! Why haven't either of you done anything!?" Inaho threw her arms into the air for emphasis, Keita's face turned slightly red, but he still refused to look at the girl, "How are you two still 'just friends!?'"

"None of your business, that's how!" Keita angrily got to his feet before pointing towards the door, "Out!"

"Oh come on, Keita! At least talk to me about this a little bit!"

"OUT!"

"… Fine," Inaho huffed, walking backwards out the door, her eyes not leaving Keita, "But we're not done with this!"

"INAHO!"

"I'M GOING!" the door shut closed, Keita let out a sigh as he slumped on his bed.

"Stupid Inaho…" he muttered to himself, though he couldn't help thinking about what she said… ' _Maybe it is getting to be time to talk to Fumi…_ ' he let out sigh, moving over to his window and looking out at the sky… only to let out a surprised gasp when he saw Inaho, standing on the street in front of his house, glaring up at him, the Anchor let out an angry grunt before closing the curtains, ' _Still, Inaho should mind her own business!_ '

* * *

 **Closing comments time!**

 **8.1: An adventure begins, possibly? To be continued (maybe?)**

 **8.2: Welcome to the Dual-Name club Inaho, er, Hailey!**

 **8.3: Gifts for everyone!**

 **8.4: Wonder what's going on with them…**

 **8.5: Fire-power, yes?**

 **8.6: She does seem to get targeted a lot.**

 **8.7: No matter the case, Detective Inaho is on it! Probably…**

 **8.8: I regret to inform that 'Mangey-talk with Manjimutt' has been cancelled due to low ratings.**

 **8.9: The family tree may be a bit confusing, but Ruby seems to enjoy explaining it.**

 **8.10: …Um… I don't even know…**

 **8.11: Seaman has a score to settle.**

 **8.12: Karma?**

 **8.13: Looking for kobitos? No? Well sometimes you find them anyway.**

 **8.14: Family will always come to help you! Unless it crashes the Loop…**

 **8.15: Not sure who will be worse off by the end of this…**

 **8.16: Manjimutt, master of martial arts?**

 **8.17: New Loopers, new experiences, new friends!**

 **8.18: It's** _ **always**_ **Wario…**

 **8.19: Pie.**

 **8.20: Terror Time Again!**

 **8.21: Whisper-dex, away!**

 **8.22: Only Dracunyan can be Dracunyan.**

 **8.23: A boy, and his giant, soulless, scorpion-monster.**

 **8.24: Yandere Katie/Fumika? I'm sure this is a yo-kai's fault, somehow.**

 **8.25: All hail the Oni Queen!**

 **8.26: Press the button, don't press the button, either way, you can't avoid fate…**

 **8.27: If you can't beat 'em, make friends with them! Or eat them… either works for Kirby.**

 **8.28: Exploding Easter Egg Hunt… fun?**

 **8.29: Easter USApyon!**

 **8.30: That is a good question, would they work…?**

 **8.31: Inaho is tired of Nate/Keita and Katie/Fumika's uncertainty… and, has apparently read Homestuck…**

 **A little note: I intend to, in the near future, go back and edit the earlier chapters; to include if the snip is a crossover in brackets [] as I did in this chapter, since I feel that makes it easier for some. Also, to possibly improve spelling or grammar, and to add closing comments like the above, to the chapters that do not have them, and give each chapter its own name, excluding the Infinite Tunnel Chapter.**

 **Nothing that would require one to go back and reread the older chapters if you already have, but just a little something to improve the story.**


	10. Expansions, Relationships, & a Whale

**9.1 smxsonic**

[Yo-Kai Watch/Neptunia]

Nate stretched his arms and fell back on his bed. He took out his video game and started playing.

"Don't you have some homework due tomorrow?" Whisper asked.

"I've had the same homework for billions of years, Whisper, it'll be fine."

 **1 hour later**

"Nyate, are you still playing that game?" Jibanyan asked

"Yeah, just feels like a day to stay in and play video games."

"Your mom's going to be mad if you spend all day playing video games."

Nate looked up from his game, " Yeah, I guess you're right. Wanna go get some pudding?"

 **7 hours later**

"And don't come out until you've finished your Homework!"

Nate sighed and crossed his arms, his mom took issue with his playing video games and eating pudding all day.

"Come to think of it, why was I so intent on playing video games all day today?" Nate asked, "It must be a yo-kai!"

"Nate, can you even be affected by yo-kai anymore?" Whisper asked.

Nate scanned the room with his watch, "Yes and no. It's complicated."

"Besides that, I doubt that there is a yo-kai that makes you just play video games and eat pudding all day."

"Gotcha!"

Nate shined his watch onto a humanoid shadow that solidified into a small girl with purple hair wearing an oversized white hoodie with purple accents.

"Heya, Bro-Bro, I was wondering when you would find me!"

 _ **Charming Tribe: Neptune**_

"Neptune... this really shouldn't surprise me."

Neptune giggled at her brother's exasperation.

"So, you're a yo-kai this loop?"

"Yep! It's a tragic tale of a totally radical girl from the 90s who just wanted to play her video games but was cut down by an electrical surge."

Nate just sighed. Neptune skipped over to him and gave him her medal, "Welp, ya found me, so here's my medal, and if you'll excuse me, I have a date to see a movie with a friend of mine and trust me, If I miss it she will NOT stop spoiling it for me. See ya!"

As Neptune left, Nate sweatdropped, "Of course she's friends with Spoilerina. Welp, I guess it's time to do my homework."

* * *

"So..." Eddie bagan, " Does anybody think that Katie's acting weird?"

Nate looked up in thought while he and his other two friends were walking home from school. He was so used to the Looping Katie, that he sort of forgot that Katie was a yo-kai magnet.

"What's going on with her?" Nate asked.

"Well, she's been really moody lately"

"Oh yeah, she's been holeing herself up in the classroom to finish her homework too." Bear interjected.

Nate stopped walking, "Hey, guys? I think I forgot my book, I'll be right back!"

* * *

"Do you really think there's a yo-kai involved in this?" Whisper asked as he, Nate and Jibanyan snuck around to the classroom door.

"Just wanting to make sure," Nate looked around the corner. Sure enough; Katie was there, working on some homework.

"Let me try something," he said as he walked up to Katie, "Hey, Katie! Bear, Eddie and I were going to go catch some bugs, wanna come with?"

Katie put down her pencil and stared at Nate through half-lidded eyes, "Jeeze, do you guys do ANYthing productive? You all should really focus on studying!"

Nate backed away out of the classroom.

"Okay, I don't think she's Stealthing..." Nate declared, he then proceeded to take his Yo-kai Watch U and scan the area around Katie. He found a silhouette which then turn into a teenage girl wering black twintails and an ornate dress.

"Okay, there's another new one," Nate confirmed, "Whisper, do you, uh, know anything?"

Whisper was already swiping through his Yo-kai Pad, "Ah yes, she is a... yo-kai... AH, yes she is the yo-kai, Noire!"

 _ **Eerie Tribe: Noire**_

"She's responsible for people becoming total workaholics with attitude problems!"

"Workaholics, huh? I think I have the perfect counter for that..." Nate took out a medal. "Come on out, Sis! Calling, Neptune! Yo-kai medal do your thing!"

 **"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE CHARMING FAMILY"**

The Watch then played a fun cheer-like jingle as Neptune materialized while dancing to said Jingle.

"Neptune!" she cheered while striking a pose, "Alright, Bro-Bro, who am I... NOWA!

The black haired yo-kai looked in the direction of the door only to be glomped by the smaller Yokai.

"W-what? Neptune!" Noire yelped, "G-get off me!"

"Wait, You guys know eachother?" Nate asked while walking in the door.

"Yeah! Nate, this is my CPU bestie, Noire– "

"I don't remember agreeing to being your 'bestie'," Noire interuppted.

"Noire, this is my little brother, Nate."

Nate grumbled at that.

"Since when do YOU have a little brother?"

"Ever since Nepgear got herself adopted by Little Red Riding Hood."

"... Is that the same convoluted family tree you keep talking about?"

"Yep!" She looked to Nate, "She's new, don't worry, Naterino!" Nate just sighed. Neptune turned back to Noire, "So, what are you doing inspiriting my little brother's girlfriend? "

"Hey!" Nate yelled, embarassed.

"Don't try to deny it, Bro-Bro, I've seen your Hub backups."

"We aren't... I mean..." Nate sputtered.

"If you keep denying it, you'll become a Lonely Heart just like Noire here."

Noire Grumbled as she walked up to Nate, "Look, sorry for messing with your friend. Hope this makes up for it." Noire flipped her medal into Nate's hand.

"Aww, Look, Nowa CAN make a friend!"

Noire growled again, "Now If you'll excuse me, I'm going to teach your sister a lesson."

"Umm... have at it..." Nate said as Noire went off to chase Neptune. "I hope I don't Loop into their Branch anytime soon..."

* * *

Nate was at home, tinkering with Spectral Fang when his door burst open.

"NATE!" Neptune cried while running up to her brother crying.

"Huh? Neptune? What's going on?"

"Rina's being a jerk!" Neptune cried into his shirt, "I missed a movie date, and now she won't stop spoiling Infinity War for me!"

"Well that is kind of what she does... wait... does she know that you're my sister?" Neptune nodded, while Nate sighed. "Fine, I'll bring out Wazzat and we'll power through this together..."

 **9.2**

[Yo-kai Watch/Red Vs Blue/Attack on Titan]

"Yeah, this is going to be so much fun!" Inaho cheered as she followed her parents for the Loop.

"You still have a lot to learn, Inaho, but maybe I'll let you hold some of the surgical equipment this time," Dr. Grey spoke cheerfully to her daughter for the Loop, the other parent gave a dismissive shrug.

"Eh, don't be so protective, I'm sure she can handle cutting some guys up, maybe she could even try mixing some chemicals, you never know what she could be capable of making," Hange said, patting Inaho on the head, the purple-haired girl giggled.

"I don't know…" Emily looked unsure.

"I'll eat all my vegetables!" Inaho offered.

"You should do that anyway…" both parents pointed out.

"PLEASE! I want to know how to make cyborgs!" the child pleaded, making puppy-dog eyes.

"Hmm… well I don't think I can say no to that face… and cyborgs? That's an interesting option, I think I might want to see where you go with it," Dr. Grey nodded, Inaho cheered and Hange smiled fondly.

"Well… that's interesting," Church muttered, Levi stood beside him and nodded.

"Yeah, 'interesting'. 'Cause, ya'know, it's not like I ever need to sleep again, or anything…" Keita muttered with a blank expression as he stood a good distance away from the other two males.

 **9.3**

[Gregory Horror Show/Yo-kai Watch]

"So hungry…" Neko Zombie groaned to himself for what felt like the millionth time. He didn't remember how he had gotten back to his room/cell, but he had stopped questioning the nature of Gregory House a long time ago…

Gregory House was a place of chaos, despair, and confusion. Though, Neko Zombie had felt things were a little stranger than normal as of late; the new guests were feeling very familiar, Gregory seemed to be repeating himself a lot when coming to reprimand him, and various, other little things.

Still, Neko Zombie didn't dwell on these concerns. Gregory House would never change, he had realized this a long time ago, even burning the building down did nothing to stop it… perhaps his sanity was just finally going? What little bit was left of it, that is.

"I'm hungry too, nya…" an unfamiliar voice from across the room interrupted the patchwork cat's thoughts, he looked over and was surprised to see another cat in his room. "Do you think we should break out and raid the kitchen, nya?" a red and white cat, stitched-up in a similar manner to himself, questioned with a tilt of the head.

"Who are…?" Neko Zombie started to question, when he suddenly felt a flood of memories fill his head regarding this new cat. This was his… brother? Yes, his twin brother; Jibanyan, they used to do everything together, and they ended up locked here together as well… that wasn't right. He had no brother, he remembered this clearly, but the memories of his life with Jibanyan were also clear, Neko Zombie's eyes narrowed in suspicion… "What is going on here?"

"Nya?"

"I don't remember you ever being here, yet at the same time, I know you have always been by my side…" the two undead felines stared at each other with equally blank expressions… "I know Gregory likes to mess with me, but this isn't like anything he's done before…" Jibanyan blinked at Neko Zombie's thoughtful tone.

"Um, Nyeko, this might be a strange question, but have you perhaps, been experiencing time-loops-nya?"

"Time… loops?" Neko Zombie narrowed his eyes as he thought about this. "I don't think so… but then again… How would I even know, with how this place is," he put a paw to his head and purred in thought. "It would explain this feeling of repetition…"

"Oh boy, nyever thought I'd be the one giving someone the speech, nya," Jibanyan smirked a little, melting his shackle away with a burst of fire from his body and approaching the stunned Neko Zombie. "We've got a lot to go over, so I better just get some food from my pocket, seeing as we're both starving here," Jibanyan chuckled, even as he effortlessly broke the chain off Neko Zombie's foot. "You like chocolate, right-nya?"

Neko Zombie was wary of this stranger that his memories told him he should know, along with the many, many questions he had right now. But, at that moment, one desire overruled any reprehension he may have had, and Jibanyan had just said the secret words.

"… I _love_ chocolate."

"… I think you and I are going to get along just fine," Jibanyan smirked.

* * *

"So… these 'Loops,' spread throughout an entire multiverse?" Neko Zombie questioned after Jibanyan had finished his explanation, both of them sat on the floor of the room, eating choco-bars, a large number of discarded wrappers lay around them.

"Yup, we're all in this crazy game together and sanyity is not mandatory, nya," Jibanyan chuckled a little at the joke, though the way Neko Zombie stared at him indicated he didn't think it was very funny. "… Um, so. How long have you been Looping?"

"… I really don't know," Neko Zombie muttered as he looked to the floor. "I had only noticed things getting repetitive recently, but it might have been long before then. Living here has always felt like an infinite loop, nothing ever changing, trapped forever… I suppose this doesn't make much of a difference in the end… how can I even trust you're telling the truth?"

"Huh…?" Jibanyan thought about Neko Zombie's words as the other cat kept his eyes on him, "I suppose that's true, how can you knyow I'm telling the truth? Nya…" the red cat crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "… I suppose you really can't, anything I could show you about the Loops could just be explained by the weirdess of this place…"

"Yes, don't get me wrong; I don't feel like you're a deceptive individual, and you're not Gregory typical style of messing with me…" Neko Zombie licked his paws briefly before continuing, "But this isn't the kind of place where you can just trust any random stranger that shows up, especially not one showing up in my room, along with memories of being my brother, while claiming the multiverse is broken and time is Looping."

"Yes, yes… well, I don't really nyeed to convince you, nya," Jibanyan shrugged, Neko Zombie looked confused, "Just keep in mind what I've told you, you'll see that it's the truth as you keep Looping, nya…"

"… Hmph, I suppose it doesn't really matter if you're telling the truth or not," the stitched-up cat muttered, "Everything here was already an endless cycle, this changes nothing…"

"Well, I wouldn't say that, nya," Jibanyan snickered a little, Neko Zombie looked at him questioningly. "You saw what I could do with my flames, right? I may have been able to control fire in my Baseline, but I wasn't nyearly that good. The Loops are more than simply an endless cycle of repeating events, they give us a chance to improve, and make our situations better!"

"… You really think I could make this situation better? Nothing I've tried before has worked…"

"Well, you've not had access to the infinyite possibilities of the multiverse before! Nya!" Jibanyan held a paw up encouragingly, using his other shove another choco-bar into his mouth, which he quickly swallowed. "You could gain new abilities by Looping into other worlds, I'll teach you how to use your sub-space pocket to store items between Loops… though it may take some time for yours to get big enough to store as much as mine can, nya."

"… This all sounds very interesting, I suppose I should thank you, provided you _are_ telling the truth…" Neko Zombie's tone held a bit less of the depressing air it usually did, though he still didn't seem very enthusiastic, and a bit suspicious. "But you said others from my world could begin experiencing these Loops, correct?"

"Mostly only if they have a close tie to you, but yes."

"Does that mean Gregory could end up Looping?" Jibanyan noted that Neko Zombie's eyes narrowed in a way that expressed both anger and discomfort, he looked over his memories to double-check who Gregory was, and shivered a little.

"Do you… have a close relationship to him-nya?"

"… I despise him."

"Well… it's probably not likely than…" Jibanyan muttered, though he didn't sound entirely sure. "So, um… how about we eat more chocolate?"

"Sure," and so the two felines continued to partake in their chocolate feast, putting other worries to the backs of their minds for other times.

 **9.4** **Boohoooo!**

"Yo, yo, what up dawgs?" Manjimutt exclaimed, strutting in.

"Manjimutt, I thought we agreed that you should stop trying to be cool." Hailey pointed out.

Meanwhile, Nate and Snottle were on their way to go fishing when they heard an explosion from Hailey's house.

"... Dad, should we check that out?" Snottle nervously asked.

"... No." Nate deadpanned simply, continuing to walk away.

Back with Manjimutt, He had forced Hailey to praise him under the threat of being Kamehamehaed.

"That's what I thought, bi– "Manjimutt began, before he was karate chopped.

"No cursing!" Whisper exclaimed.

 **9.5**

[Yo-kai Watch/Little Witch Academia]

Lotte once again found herself at the entrance to Luna Nova, her first day there…

She let out a small sigh, the Loop could be tiresome at times, especially when nobody else was Awake. She still sometimes questioned why, out of all her friends, she was made Anchor.

At least Akko was always there to help her out. Even if Akko wasn't Awake, she never doubted Lotte's words or offer of friendship.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for most of her other friends; Sucy was usually skeptical at first, though by how much varied, and _Diana_ , if she wasn't Awake, convincing her early on might as well have been an exercise in futility…

So wrapped up in her thoughts she was, that the time-traveling girl didn't notice before she bumped into someone.

"Ow! Sorry," Lotte rubbed her head before looking to the person she had run into, before blinking in surprise, standing before her was a brown-haired boy about her age, he had luggage with him and appeared to be in a boy's version of the Luna Nova uniform.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," he waved her off, looking towards the entrance to the school curiously. Lotte kept staring at him for a few moments.

"Um… are you lost?"

"Huh? Of course not," the boy huffed as he kept looking at the entrance, "Just… trying to figure out how to get in…" he seemed to pause for a moment before nodding, "Oh yeah, that's how!" before Lotte could ask anymore questions, the boy pulled a broomstick from his bag and hopped onto it, it began floating and he headed for the entrance, "Bye! See you at the academy!"

"… What?" Lotte was very confused; this boy was never here before… was he a visiting Looper? Shaking her head, Lotte let out a Ping, she got two back but that didn't really tell her much at this point.

She decided she would have to think more on this later, as Akko was approaching, and if she wasn't one of the Pings, she knew that she would need to help her get to the school… and find the Shiny Rod.

* * *

"This Loop might be interesting," Keita mused as he flew on the broom through the portal.

"So stuffy!" Jibanyan cried out, popping out of one of the boy's bags, "Why do I nyeed to be in the bag!? I'm your familiar! Nya!"

"Er, sorry Akamaru, I guess my UnAwake-self thought this was the best way to get you through the 'no pets allowed' train…" Keita sweatdropped, the nekomata grumbled as he crawled out and positioned himself on the broom, just in front of Keita.

"It's fine, just let me out earlier next time this kind of thing happens, nya," Jibanyan shook his head, "Get that Ping just now? Nya."

"Yeah, probably the Anchor…" Keita explained, a thoughtful look on his face, "Weiss mentioned the Anchor of this Loop was girl named Lotte, we'll probably run into her at the school…"

"Right…" Jibanyan nodded, and the two continued to move forward on the broom, "… You knyow, Inaho's going to be super jealous of you ending up in a magic school, nya."

"That's why we're not going to _tell_ her."

"You knyow she'll find out anyway, nya…"

"… Yeah, probably," Keita grunted a bit at the thought of Inaho badgering him, "Let's not worry about that right now, I say we just enjoy the Loop and try to have fun."

"No argument here, Keita-nya!" the nekomata raised his paw in agreement, just as they exited the portal, out into the school's campus.

 **9.6**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"I bring this meeting of the Council of Looping Pets to order!" Jibanyan exclaimed as he looked around the conference room at the Loopers that had assembled… Zwei and USApyon.

"Shouldn't we have gotten more members before having a meeting? Dani," USApyon pointed out in a bored tone.

"How are we supposed to get more members if we don't have meetings to figure out how?" Zwei questioned, his ears twitching a bit, "Think, Chibi…"

"… Don't call me 'Chibi,'" the otter yo-kai grumbled.

"Guys, focus!" Jibanyan called out, waving his paws.

"On what? What even does a 'Council of Looping Pets' do? Dani!" USApyon snapped.

"We're pets that Loop! We'll think of something!" Zwei pointed out, his tail eagerly wagging.

"Yes, well said Zwei, we will do many cool things!" Jibanyan nodded, USApyon groaned while Zwei nodded, "But first… let us think about what new members we should be getting…"

"… I think I might know a few possible candidates," the Looping dog smiled.

 **9.7 Boohoooo! (continuation of 8.18)**

"REFUNDS! REFUNDS! WE WANT REFUNDS!" An angry mob shouted from outside Level-5 HQ.

"What do we do?!" Manjimutt panicked, holed up in his office.

"I say we sacrifice that goober." Jibanyan whispered to the other employees, gesturing to Manjimutt.

"I can hear you!" Manjimutt complained.

Suddenly, the doors were finally broken, and the angry mob rushed around the building.

"Wellp, I'm out." USApyon deadpanned, force-jumping away.

"Hey! What about the rest of us!?" Hailey wailed. The angry mob then found the group.

"Uhhhhh… Is it too late now to say sorry?" Manjimutt smiled nervously.

"YOU JUST STOLE MY SONG!" A beaver with a Justin Bieber-haircut roared as the Level-5 employees were savagely beaten.

1 hour later...

Nate sighed as he waited in a hospital for his friends to be healed.

"Here's the bill." A doctor said, handing Nate a 12,000-dollar hospital bill. Nate simply sighed.

 **9.8**

[Yo-kai Watch/Star Wars]

Hailey let out a scream as she was knocked back by the force of a red lightsaber, she held tightly onto her own blue one as she glared at the short, yellow suited creature that approached her, the window in his helmet obscured by darkness, two glowing red eyes peeking through. The two were standing on a narrow platform, with a steep fall behind her, and the approaching Sith before her, Hailey had no way to escape.

"You have lost Anne, this doesn't have to be the end; join me, together we can rule this galaxy, dani!" Darth USApyon exclaimed, clenching his free hand while pointing his lightsaber towards the downed girl, Hailey kept her glare as she stood back up.

"Never! I'll never fall to the Dark Side! I'm nothing like you!" the purple-haired girl shouted firmly, the Sith Lord chuckled darkly.

"Oh, but young Anne, you and I are much closer than you realize, dani…" Darth USApyon said mysteriously.

"What do you mean by that!?" the Jedi questioned as she pointed her lightsaber towards the short, but dangerous being.

"Demuncher never told you what happened to your pet otter… dani" Darth USApyon spoke sinisterly, Hailey's expression turned to a snarl.

"He told me enough; he told me you killed him!" at this outraged shout, Darth USApyon just let out another chuckle.

"No Hailey, I _am_ your otter! Dani!" the girl's eyes widened, nearly dropping her weapon as she took a few steps back.

"N-no, that's not true! That's impossible!"

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true, dani…"

"… You know, the constant us of 'dani' is making it kind of hard to take you seriously…" at Hailey's sudden, nonchalant tone USApyon let out a groan, deactivating Vader Mode.

"Oh man, did you just Wake up? Dani."

"Yup, just now," Hailey nodded, USApyon sighed.

"Well, there goes my fun for the Loop… dani," the two stood on the platform in silence.

"So… want to go overthrow the emperor?" Hailey suggested with a smile, USApyon shrugged.

"Eh, why not? Dani."

 **9.9 Boohoooo!**

[Yo-Kai Watch/Tom and Jerry/We Bare Bears/RWBY]

Inaho, Jerry, Nom Nom and Zwei Awoke (in both terms of the word) in a nice house.

"Huh? What's going on?" Nom Nom drowsily grumbled, attempting to go back to sleep.

"KIDS! BREAKFAST!" A voice called. It was then the quartet's Loop memories kicked in.

"Wha–bu–How are we–We're four different species!" Jerry murmured.

"As weird as it is for a human, a koala, a mouse and a dog to be biological siblings, weirder things have happened in the Loops." Zwei shrugged, going off to get breakfast.

"I wish Looping was like a job you could just quit..." Nom Nom lamented.

"Come on bro! Think positively!" Inaho cheered, giving Nom Nom a bonecrushing hug. Nom Nom squirmed and grumbled.

"Hey kiddos! What took you so long?" The dad chuckled, eating pancakes.

"Honey, no talking with your mouth full!" The mom playfully chided. And so, the six had a good time eating breakfast and talking (except the ever-miserable Nom Nom).

Later...

"Hey, can you four go pick up some supplies to make tacos?" Dad asked the quartet of Loopers.

"Of courseio dad!" Inaho cheered, running off.

"Hey! Wait up! We have shorter legs!" Nom Nom complained... only to notice Jerry and Zwei had already caught up to Inaho and following with a grumble.

"And so, their quest begins. Too bad they must face an untimely demise... courtesy of ME, SAILORNYAN! MWAHAHAHAHA!" Sailornyan laughed maniacally, watching the four from the shadows.

 **9.10**

" _When somebody loved me, everything was beautiful, every hour spent together, lives within my heart…_ "

"Whisper…"

"Yes, Nate?"

"Why is Wazzat singing 'When She Loved Me' from Toy Story 2?" the Anchor questioned, gesturing to the singing hat tsukumogami, the yo-kai butler scratched his head.

"Er… I suppose he was a bit more passionate about his past owner this Loop?"

"… That doesn't explain the song."

"Maybe he's a fan of the movie?"

"I'm pretty sure the Toy Story franchise doesn't exist in our Loop, at least not this run," Nate deadpanned, Whisper shrugged.

" _So the years went by. I stayed the... the…_ Er, how does the rest of it go again?" Wazzat questioned confusedly, Nate let out a sigh.

 **9.11 KaiserRichard**

[Yo-kai Watch/Back to the Future]

After beating Dame Dedtime, Nate and the others ran into a small problem...

"So, I got some good news and bad news." The anchor said to Whisper, Jibanyan, and Katie, "Bad news; Miradox doesn't seem to exist in this loop. Thus, we can't travel back to our time."

"I am NOT waiting 60 years to get back home!" Katie moaned thinking to wait even longer for a Loop to end.

"BUT! The good news is that a few Loops ago, I got this!" Nate reached into his pocket and took out a car that was both futuristic yet retro. "Ta-da!"

"... Is that a DeLorean?" The ghostly butler asked

"Yep!"

"I'm not sure that the admins would be pleased about messing with time even more then we already do in the Baseline." Katie pointed out.

"Relax!" Nate answered as he dialed in the date of when they left, "As long as we only use it to get back to our time, we'll be fine!" Both of the yo-kai huddled into the car as the girl got buckled up in the passengers seat.

"Alright, but YOU'RE going to pay for my back-pain medicine if this doesn't work!"

"Next stop, 2016!" Nate revved up the engine and got ready to back to the future. Needless to say, Katie made a mental note fearing of Nate with a driver's license.

 **9.12**

[Yo-kai Watch/Avatar: The Last Airbender]

"Okay, I'm Awake and feeling Loopy, dani! So how's the…" USApyon paused when he saw a different girl sitting on Inaho's bed, "Dani?"

"Local Looper?" Azula concluded without much difficulty, looking the otter yo-kai over.

"Yeah… so, you can already see me? Dani," USApyon questioned, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall.

"Seeing spirits is something I checked off my skill list a long time ago, not even really worth going into," the fire-bending girl shrugged dismissively, before giving the yo-kai a critical look, "But first of all, you're USApyon, right?"

"You've heard about me? Dani."

"As a fellow Sith, it's my business to know, and give you a belated welcome to the Dark Side. Though, I assume Pinkie Pie already gave you one…"

"Oh, yeah, plus a nice care package, dani!" USApyon explained with a smile, "She even sang a 'Welcome to the Dark Side' song… dani."

"Of course she did…" Azula rolled her eyes, before giving USApyon a curious look, "Still, didn't see you at any of the latest meetings…"

"… Isn't your group only for Looping Sith 'Ladies?' Dani…"

"… You're a boy?"

"What!? Of course I'm a boy! Dani!" USApyon fumed, Azula almost smirked at his overreaction, but decided to diffuse the situation.

"Calm down, rabbit-specter. No offense to you, but it is kind of hard to tell," the older Sith shrugged, this comment seemed to make USApyon angrier.

"I'm not a rabbit! Dani!"

"… So, why are you dressed like one?"

"Because… because… that's complicated! Dani!" the rabbit yo-kai snapped, glaring at the smirking Azula.

"Whatever you say, so, how does this Loop usually go?"

* * *

" **VADER MODE!"**

Azula didn't think it was a big deal, a few comments about the Baseline being boring, calling into question the little yo-kai's capabilities as a Sith, and his subservience to a little girl. His reaction however, was not unexpected, from what she had heard…

"Hmm, I'll admit, you've got some powerful anger," Azula commented, easily blocking the yo-kai's lightsaber slashes with her own, "But you're too unfocused, you need to channel your anger into concise attacks if you want to win against any experienced Force-users, just going berserk won't get you far… as you are now, well, this is just pathetic."

"STOP MOCKING ME! DANI!" USApyon raged, pressing two more buttons on his helmet, causing his suit to turn from yellow to pink, a blue cape appearing on his back.

" **EMPEROR MODE!"**

USApyon pulled a second lightsaber from his pocket, this one having a yo-kai medal slot incorporated into it, he inserted his own medal into it, causing it to create a dark blue blade, before he continued his assault on Azula with more ferocity than before.

"I'm starting to think you're not listening to me," Azula sighed, blocking the multiple-lightsaber attack with a bored expression.

* * *

"Dani…" USApyon groaned as he sat on the ground, having reverted to his normal state.

"You done?" Azula crossed her arms as she observed the tired yo-kai.

"Yeah… I'm done, dani…"

"Good."

"So… maybe I'm not as in tuned with the Dark Side as I would like to admit, dani…" the yo-kai admitted with a sigh, looking towards the ground, "I thought I had a good handle on my position as a Sith, but maybe I'm not cut out for this… dani."

"Now, don't sell yourself short so quickly," the older Looper halted the local's line of thinking as she stepped closer, "You have a lot of potential to be a powerful Sith, but you need more focus. And to not fly off the handle so easily."

"I'll… take your advice to heart, dani…" USApyon let out another exhausted breath, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out, dan– "the otter yo-kai collapsed mid-verbal-tick, Azula rolled her eyes, a small smirk appearing on her face.

 **9.13**

Keita hummed a bit to himself as he sat on his bed, reading a comic, Jibanyan slept by the bed while Whisper was cleaning his yo-kai pad, a sudden tap on the window caught their attention.

"Hm…?" the Anchor got up and went over to the window, opening it; only for Mifu to float in, looking a bit aggravated as she slammed the window shut behind her.

"Fumi-chan? Did you die?" Keita asked in concern, the pink ghost sighed.

"No, I just exited my body and pocketed it, I needed to get away!"

"What do you mean, whissu?" Whisper questioned, Mifu looked out the window with narrowed eyes, Keita and Whisper followed her line of vision, spotting several boys wondering around looking for something; including Kanchi, Kuma, _Orochi_ , and even an UnAwake Kyubi in human form.

"Er… what's going on?" the Anchor asked warily, Mifu sweatdropped as she looked away.

"Er… you know how you're not too fond of Harem-Loops, Keita-kun?" at this, he nodded, "Well, I've recently found I'm not a huge fan of 'reverse' Harem-Loops, myself…"

"… You can stay here as long as you want," Keita assured with a serious expression, Fumika smiled.

"Thank you Keita-kun."

 **9.14 Boohoooo!**

[Yo-Kai Watch/Doraemon]

Nobi blinked as he Awoke... and immediately screamed due to a mirror being nearby.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?! I DIDN'T EVEN USE ANY OF DORAEMON'S INVENTIONS YET!" He exclaimed in shock, having looped in as Frazzel. He desperately attempted to get help from people walking the street, the fact that nobody could see or hear him freaking him out even more. "What is happening?!" Nobi sobbed in terror.

Meanwhile, Keita whistled as he walked down the street.

"Look at that sun, look at that sky, look at my red shirt I look so fly!" he sang.

"If you get sued for copyright infringement, you have no one to blame but yourself, whiss." Whisper deadpanned. Suddenly, Nobi ran past with a scream.

"...What's Frazzel's deal?" Jibanyan asked.

"I dunno. We should investigate." Keita shrugged, following after the new Anchor. Upon catching up with "Frazzel" the trio cautiously approached.

"You alright, whiss?" Whisper asked.

"Wait... You can see me?!" Nobi asked. Keita noticed Frazzel's voice was different...

"... What's your name?" He asked.

"Nobita Nobi. Why?" Nobi reluctantly grunted out.

"Tell me, has time been repeating for you?" Keita asked.

"Yes... You did this, didn't you?!" Nobi accused, shaking Keita.

"No, but I can explain." Keita shrugged. Nobi reluctantly let go.

One Welcome to the Multiverse Speech later...

"That's... That's crazy!" Nobi exclaimed.

"Agreed." Keita shrugged.

"...Well, at least I know Doraemon isn't just pranking me... or an amnesiac.." Nobi sighed.

"That's the spirit! Whiss! ...Get it, because– "he began to explain.

"BOOOOOOOOO! YOU SUCK!" Every Yo-Kai in a 21-Mile radius shouted out.

"... Everyone's a critic..." Whisper grumbled, eliciting laughs from his companions.

'Maybe this won't be so bad after all...' Nobi mentally mused.

 **9.15**

"I think the dimensions are a little off," Hailey commented.

"No, you have to account for the scale, and how far away it is; trust me, I did all the math, despite how it seems, the light will hit the entire city," Nate assured, pointing up into the sky, Hailey still looked skeptical, but shrugged and nodded.

"Okay, if you say so…"

"Nate?" Whisper floated over the the two humans with a questioning look, "What are you talking about?"

"That," Hailey pointed up cheerfully, the yo-kai butler looked up, and nearly fainted at the sight of a _massive_ yo-kai lens, hovering over the city.

"What!? H-how!?" Whisper stuttered as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing, Nate held up a remote with a smile.

"Activation in 3… 2… 1!" he pressed a button, the yo-kai lens activated and shined a light over the Springdale.

* * *

"I feel like our friends have done something stupid," Katie commented.

"What makes you think that?" Kyubi asked as he floated after her along the sidewalk.

"I don't know, maybe because of that?" Katie pointed out how people were staring at Kyubi with shocked expressions, the nine-tailed fox shrugged.

"Huh, I barely noticed…"

* * *

"HAILEY! WHAT DID YOU DO!? DANI!?" USApyon shouted as he came apon his human companion, along with the Anchor and his yo-kai butler.

"What makes you think I've done something?" Hailey questioned nonchalantly.

"Maybe because; there's a GIANT YO-KAI WATCH LENS HANGING OVER THE CITY! Everyone can see yo-kai now and they're freaking out! Dani!" the otter yo-kai raged as he flailed about, not unnoticed by a few passing people that gave uncomfortable looks.

"Hey, don't blame me; it was mostly Nate's idea," the purple-haired girl scoffed.

"Oh, like you had any objections; when I offered the idea, you were all for it," the Anchor countered with a huff, USApyon's eye twitched as he stared at the two.

"I seriously have no idea what goes through your mind sometimes, Nate," Whisper sighed as he floated by his friend/master's side, USApyon continued to twitch for a few moments, his hands inching towards the buttons on the bottom of his helmet… before he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"No… no, dani. Not for this, not now…" the Looping 'merican yo-kai nodded as he turned away.

"Wait, no Invader Mode?" Hailey questioned with a look of genuine confusion.

"Nah, it's not worth it, dani," USApyon commented as he walked away, "Especially if Nate was involved… I don't think going Invader Mode on him would end very well for me, dani…"

"I'm not going to attack you, ya'know…" the brown-haired boy pointed out plainly.

"Not taking the chance! Dani!" the otter yo-kai exclaimed before running off, Nate and Hailey glanced at each other, before shrugging.

"So… want to see what chaos is going on around town," the female Looper smirked.

"Sounds like a plan," Nate gave a thumbs-up, before the two chuckled. Whisper let out a groan.

"You two… I don't even know what to say to you two right now…" the Looping ghost shook his head/body, before he took note of someone approaching, "Though… I feel like _she_ might have more to say about this…"

"… She?" Nate and Hailey both blinked in confusion.

"Nathan Adams! Hailey Anne!" both Loopers flinched at the familiar voice calling them, before they looked to see a disgruntled Katie Forester, a chuckling fox yo-kai not far behind her, "What have you two done!?"

 **9.16 Boohoooo!**

(Yo-kai Watch/Bubsy/Scooby Doo/Dora the Explorer/Steet Fighter)

Nate woke up and gave a deadpan expression.

"Hola!" A robotic Dora Marquez smiled.

"It's too early for this..." Nate sighed, attempting to go back to bed.

"Don't go CATatonic! We need to go on an adventure!" A Bubsy Bobcat robot exclaimed, shaking Nate.

"PUPPY POWEERRRRRR!" A robotic Scrappy Doo exclaimed, swinging on the ceiling.

"KEN MASTERSSSSSS!" A robotic Rufus roared, attacking Nate. Nate easily blocked the attack and decapitated the robotuc Rufus, who had a sign saying 'Property of Anne Industries' come out.

"HAILEYYYYYY!" Nate roared.

2 hours later...

Hailey whistled as she balanced things on her desk. A Bubsy robot promptly rolled in.

"Hailey! WHAT are you doing?!" Nate demanded.

"Well, I accidentally made self-aware robots after binging a bunch of Hub Shows and thought I'd share them with the world!" Hailey smiled.

"Wel–Wait, why did you say self-aware? As in sentient?" Nate blinked.

"Yep." Hailey answered.

"I... I killed dozens of these robots on my way here." Nate frowned, looking sick.

"It's so cold and dark.. I'm scared..." The Bubsy robot sobbed. Nate stood there stunned.

"Bejeebus, this got dark." Manjimutt awkwardly commented.

* * *

Nate was taking a long shower.

"...Is he ok?" Jibanyan asked. Whisper shrugged, looking worried.

 **9.17 Darkflare75**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

The first time it happened Nathaniel Adams was surprised to wake up with a younger brother since most visiting Loopers usually Looped into Nate's time. However, when you take into consideration his place in the family tree and the frequency of which it happened, Nathanial was no longer surprised when Oscar Pine from the RWBY Loops ended up as his younger brother.

"Good morning" Nathaniel greeted Oscar as he walked into the dining room for breakfast. "Did you get enough sleep last night you look like you're feeling Loopy?"

"I am Awake," Oscar answered with a smile."Which is good, because the local Anchor won't be born for a good 50 years."

Nathaniel shook his head at Oscar "Are you planning to start up a farm like normal, or do you have something special planned for this Loop?"

"I have been on an ice cream kick for the last couple Loops, so I think I'm going to see how big of an ice cream company I can make," Oscar answered with a shrug.

"Well, it should be fun to hear what Nate has to say about your company when he comes to visit.

* * *

Nate Woke up in an Ice cream shop that he could immediately tell wasn't native to his Baseline. Looking down he found that he had the company's logo on his shirt; it was two scoops of chocolate chip ice cream inside of what looked like a golden crown shaped ice cream cone, it had the words "The Ice Cream" stylized so that they looked like they were drawn onto the Ice cream with chocolate syrup, underneath that was the word "King" which had been imprinted on the crown.

Looking at the logo that pronounced "The Ice Cream King" he let the Loop memories flow through his mind before groaning. On one hand, he wasn't known for being average this Loop, on the other, he didn't know if he wanted to be the "crown prince" to Oscar's dairy powered dynasty.

Shaking his head to clear it Nate went up to the counter. He could figure out what he was going to do with this Loop later. For now, he was going to enjoy some ice cream.

 **9.18**

[Yo-kai Watch/Steven Universe]

When Ningyo AKA Mermaidyn came to awareness, she found herself unable to move…

Scratch that, she found herself unable to do _anything_ , except for project images onto the mirror from which she looked out into the world. Her memories told her she was a type of being known as a 'gem,' and that she was trapped…

' _Well… this is just perfect, a situation where I would actually be happy for Keita to fish me up without warning, are you trying to tell me something Yggdrasil?_ ' Ningyo thought cynically, she struggled a bit to try and form her 'hard-light body' her memories told her of but was unable to. She was truly trapped in this mirror.

However, this feeling of being trapped would soon be ended it seemed, as she felt a hand take a grip on her gem, attempting to pry it from the mirror.

' _Oh right, Steven!_ ' the memories flashed through Ningyo's mind, the boy was friendly, if not a little immature, it made sense that he would try to free her after she asked him, her further thoughts on the matter were halted when the gem was freed from her prison, and she was forced to focus on reforming.

Ningyo felt strange as she formed a body of light, focusing a bit, she formed a body somewhat resembled the form of her evolved form; Yao Bikuni, aside from the dress, having legs, and being completely blue, but a strange pain hit her after, like someone struck her in the back with a whip, another memory flashed through her head.

"Oh, right, my gem is cracked…" Ningyo muttered to herself with a pained sigh, Steven stared at her with a look of surprise.

"Lapis…?" Ningyo blinked at the confusion in his tone, looking towards him, Ningyo let out a Ping, Steven seemed to notice before sending a Ping back.

"I see… My name is Ningyo, though sometimes it's Mermaidyn, and I'm replacing the one you call Lapis for this Loop," the Looping yo-kai stated plainly, standing up straight and looking towards Steven, he looked confused.

"Um… sometimes…?"

"Yeah, I often forget that's not normal for most Loopers…" Ningyo muttered a bit to herself before sighing, "The why of that isn't very important, right now I'm Ningyo, so just call me Ningyo."

"Oh, okay," Steven nodded, looking her over carefully, "Would you like me to fix your gem?"

"Could you? Do you posses healing abilities?" Ningyo questioned.

"Yeah, I do, but… you might find it a little weird," Steven explained.

"How so?"

"I heal things with my spit," the Anchor clarified, Ningyo shuddered slightly at that thought, but quickly shook it off and turned her back to Steven.

"This cracked gem is very uncomfortable, just get it over with please…"

"Don't worry, this will be quick!" the half-gem assured, licking his hand before running up to the visiting Looper and placing it on her gem, Ningyo shivered for a moment, but let out a sigh of relief when the gem began to glow and the crack started to seal.

"Thank you… that feels a lot better," Ningyo smiled as the pain in her head subsided, turning back to Steven and giving a bow of gratitude.

"Oh, your welcome," Steven smiled with a wave, Ningyo nodded before she looked out at the ocean and waved her hand, willing the water to move around.

"Hmm… this could lead to some interesting possibilities…" she muttered, before another memory flashed through her head and she frowned, "Say… Steven, are the Crystal Gems going to come after me…?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, they're all Awake, they'll just be surprised you're not Lapis," the local Anchor waved off her concern, Ningyo nodded in understanding.

"I see, well I don't want to seem rude by not meeting the other Loopers, but I'd like to spend some time in the water, figuring these abilities out," the Looping yo-kai explained, gesturing to the water, Steven seemed to think for a moment, before nodding.

"That's fine, just don't go turning the ocean into a tower."

"Huh?" the visiting Looper gave the boy a strange look, he chuckled.

"It's nothing. Take all the time you need, though I think you should meet the other Loopers here before the Loop ends."

"I'll consider it," Ningyo shrugged before moving to the water, her legs shapeshifting into a mermaid-tail before she swam off. Steven looked out at the water for a few more minutes, before a thought struck him.

"Should I have told her about Homeworld and the Diamonds…?"

"She'll be fine," Steven blinked, before looking up at the tall gem standing beside him.

"Garnet…? How long have you been…?"

"Not long," the fusion said with a nod, Steven nodded as well before looking back at the water, "Don't worry, she'll get lonely and come back here before long, you can tell her then."

"You sure?" the Anchor questioned with a blink, Garnet smiled.

"Not _entirely_ , but pretty sure…"

* * *

Ningyo swam through the ocean, experimenting with her powers, she smiled a bit as she got the hang of menipulating water to her will, and jumped out of the water a few times to utilize her water wings. This continued for several hours, before Ningyo finally stopped and looked around.

'… _I'm bored,_ ' she blinked a few times, before letting out a sigh and began heading back towards Beach City.

 **9.19**

"Guys, is it just me, or do we get Expansions really… randomly?" Keita asked as he walked down the sidewalk, accompanied by Whisper and Jibanyan.

"I'm pretty sure that's true of pretty much every Loop, Keita-kun, whissu," the spectral butler pointed out, Jibanyan let out a yawn and shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry about it, nya…"

"I just can't help but notice is all, we got some more extra days, nothing major's happened other than some new yo-kai trying to cause trouble, and Inaho and USApyon getting some more cases, but I can't help but wonder– "the Anchor stopped talking when the sound of mechanical movement caught the three Loopers' attention, they looked over and saw some sort of green, humanoid robot, walking towards them in a slow, stereotypically-robotic way, "… Whisper, is that a yo-kai?"

"Er… well," Whisper pulled out his yo-kai pad, not even bothering to hide it as he browsed the Yo-kai Wiki, while the strange robot moved closer.

"Um… hello, nya?" Jibanyan confusedly greeted as the machine approached him, it raised an arm to greet back, before looking at the unsure Keita.

"Er… yeah, hello…"

"Got it!" Whisper suddenly exclaimed, holding up his yo-kai pad triumphantly, "This guy is called 'Android Yamada!''He's a yo-kai of the Hagure tribe!"

"Hagure tribe?" Keita questioned skeptically, "Since when was there a 'Hagure' tribe?"

"Um… since this Expansion, I guess, whiss," Whisper shrugged.

"… Huh, what do you know, something different did happen," the Anchor shrugged, before he noted a tap on his leg, he looked down to see Android Yamada, staring at him with unblinking eyes, "Um… could you not do that? No offense, but it's… kind of creepy."

Without a word, Android Yamada extended one of his fingerless hands, where a medal depicting him sat.

"Oh… you want to give me your medal?" getting nod in response, Keita took the medal and smiled, "I guess we're friends than?" despite not changing expression, Android Yamada seemed pleased with this statement, he gave a slow wave, before continuing his robotic walk forward.

"Well, that was interesting, nya," Jibanyan commented, biting into a choco-bar.

"Eh, I suppose, at least nothing bad happened, whiss," Whisper smiled, Keita and Jibanyan both stiffened.

"… Why would you say that, Whisper?" the Anchor asked carefully.

"Why are you concerned suddenly? What could happen at this point? Whissu."

"Out of the way Nate!" before Keita could formulate an answer, he was suddenly tackled by Inaho.

"It's Keita! Remember? What is with– "an Emperor Mode USApyon, two lightsabers in hand jumped down from a building, glaring in Inaho's, and by extension, Keita's direction, "… Never mind, I think I get it."

Hearing the commotion, Android Yamada halted his stride, looking back and focusing on the perceived threats to his new friends; the gem on his belly began to glow.

"Please Keita-kun, you have to save me! We're besties, it's what we do!" Inaho pleaded as she hid behind the Anchor, the enraged USApyon menacingly approaching.

"First of all, we're not 'besties,'" Keita stated bluntly, "Second of all, I don't think I could save you, considering not even _you_ usually tick him off to this extent…"

"Also, you kind of just came out of nyowhere, and I'm sure this is your own fault, nya," Jibanyan added, Inaho looked like she wanted to retort, but USApyon suddenly speeding up had her deciding to flee instead, the three watched as the yo-kai Sith pursued the purple-haired human, not noticing as a beam of light headed for the Anchor.

"Do you think maybe we should have helped her?" Keita questioned with a bit of concern, already having second thoughts.

"Nah, she's gotten herself out of worse situations with that otter, she'll be fine, whiss," Whisper waved off the concern, Keita still looked unsure, but all thoughts on that were halted when the beam hit him.

"Gah!"

"Keita!" both yo-kai cried out in surprise, Android Yamada stared blankly, internally feeling distressed about this mistake on his part.

When the light faded, Keita had been replaced with a slightly smaller version of Android Yamada, however the main body was red instead of green, the face more resembled Keita's, and the gem on the belly was replaced with a star.

"What the nya!?" Jibanyan questioned in shock, Whisper scratched his head.

"Um… Android Amano?" the ghost shrugged, the new form of Keita stared at him silently, before it started to vibrate.

Android Yamada was coming back over, wishing to greet the new android he had accidentally made, but before he could, the vibrating increased in frequency, Android Amano started shaking violently, until he finally exploded, Whisper and Jibanyan shielded themselves from the flying debris, the smoke cleared to reveal a screaming Fuu2.

"NEVER AGAIN!" the blue ghost shouted in outrage, zooming right up to Android Yamada's face and shaking him, "I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN!"

"… That was simultaneously both the most fascinating thing I have ever witnessed in the Loops, and the most disturbing, whiss," Whisper commented, staring at the smoking remains of Keita's android body, Jibanyan gave a silent nod.

 **9.20**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"Well… I've replaced Ruby, Yang, even Blake and Weiss a few times, but I can safely say that this is a first for me," Nathan Fall stated with a bit of a shrug, looking over the red, formal suit he wore, before glancing at the (currently) younger, green-haired girl, staring at him, "I'm sorry, this must be… awkward for you."

"No… it's fine, just… wasn't expecting this," Emerald sighed, going over her memories briefly, subtly letting out a small sigh of relief when she found that her UnAwake self this Loop had seen this version of Nate merely as a father-figure, rather than having a crush on him, "But, what are you going to do? I can't imagine you of all people would want to do most of the stuff Cinder often does…"

"Eh, I've considered playing double-agent before, problem is Ozpin's not Awake, so he might need some convincing…" the Yo-kai Watch Anchor muttered in thought, he looked towards Emerald again, "You want in, or do you want nothing to do with me?" Emerald rolled her eyes.

"Nate, I have no problem with you anymore, Cinder cares about you, so you must be worth _something_ …"

"Gee, thanks," the visiting Anchor smirked, which Emerald returned.

"So we're going to do this, but what about Mercury?"

"Ah, for now we just continue to play our roles in front of him, maybe we can convince him to join in on being a double-agent, maybe not, we cross that bridge when we come to it," and with that, Emerald and Nate began to make their plans for how they would go about being 'double-agents,' though after a moment Emerald paused and looked back towards the Yo-kai Watch Looper.

"So… males can inheret the Maiden powers this Loop?"

"They're just called 'Seasonal Powers,'" Nate answered simply, Emerald blinked.

"Huh… that's kind of boring…"

"Yeah, I know."

 **9.21**

[Yo-kai Watch/Azumanga Daioh]

Whisper Awoke to the cramped space of the capsule he often found himself in at the beginning of Baseline, he let out an internal sigh, but was relieved when he heard gears turning, and the capsule moving.

Soon the capsule was opened, in a burst of smoke Whisper made his appearance known, doing a few stretches.

"Good timing, Keita, I never like Waking up in… there?" the ghostly butler blinked, seeing the small girl, with pigtails in her hair, smiling at him, "Chiyo-chan? Whissu?"

"Hi Whisper! I found this machine over here and remembered what goes on in your Baseline, so I figured I should let you out," the local Anchor explained cheerfully, Whisper nodded, "So… you gonna give me a yo-kai watch?"

"Don't you already have one? Whiss."

"Pocket-locked," Chiyo kept her smile as she spoke, Whisper sighed.

"Of course it is… well, let's hope we don't need to deal with too troublesome yo-kai," the Looping yo-kai stated, making the aforementioned device appeared on Chiyo's wrist, she admired it briefly, before nodding.

"Yeah! Thanks!" she turned and began moving towards a visible sidewalk through the trees, "Now let's go, I don't want to be late for school after all."

"Okay, I'm coming, whissu," Whisper assured, following after the cheerful child.

 **9.22**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"You know, it comes to my attention that the two of us have never really just sat down, and talked," Weiss took a sip from her coffee, nodding a bit to the words of the ghost across from her.

"Well, with how uncommon Fused Loops are, and with us not being Anchors, it's understandable," the white-haired human stated calmly, "Is there something in particular you wished to discuss?"

"Well… I've heard about how you take the position as the second to your Anchor," Whisper drooped a little, "And honestly, I've never really taken it upon myself to help with Nate's stability, I was hoping for advice… maybe?"

"Well… first of all, my idea of what the second Looper to the Anchor does is not necessarily the correct one for everyone," Weiss explained, shrugging, "Second of all, from what I can tell about your Baseline, you don't need to worry as much about keeping your Anchor stable, with large threats being fewer and far between, in favor of daily annoyances…" she took another sip from her coffee, "Though, that's not taking variants into account."

"I suppose… still, I wish to be more useful to Nate, I am his butler after all…" at this, Weiss blinked.

"… Huh, yeah, you are. I'd completely forgotten about that…"

"You wouldn't be the only one," Whisper sighed.

"Hmm, look, if you want to be useful to your Anchor, I think being a good friend is going a long way," Weiss smiled a little, "As for your position as a butler, I think the same logic applies; so long as your Anchor likes being around you, I think you're doing a good job…"

"True… Nate has come to respect me more in the Loops than he ever did in Baseline," the floating yo-kai smiled a bit, but quickly frowned, "Even if he does still call into question my knowledge on yo-kai quite a bit…"

"Well, you can never fully escape your Baseline perceptions; often times I'm still considered the 'straight man' in relation to Ruby…" the two remained in silence for a few moments.

"So… do you ever have any… issues with your Anchor?" Whisper decided to question, Weiss rose an eyebrow.

"Well… Ruby can be… difficult to deal with sometimes, I'll admit."

"Sometimes I feel Nate mimics her so much just to distance himself from his Baseline…"

 **9.23**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

"Wait a second, you're dating!?" Nate shouted in disbelief, sitting in his room with Ruby, they had bunkbeds and were twins this Loop, Nate sat on the bottom bunk while Ruby lie in the top.

"Dating… is a strong word, we're trying stuff out, seeing how things go…" Ruby said thoughtfully as she stared at the ceiling, Nate shook his head.

"I just… find it hard to process, you've told me for so long you had no interest in that kind of thing…"

"And I also often said that I wasn't fully against it, Penny was interested, and with what happened in that Chibi Loop, I figured it was worth a shot," Ruby shrugged, Nate looked up at her bunk blankly.

"Chibi Loop? You're making a decision like this, based on a _Chibi Loop_!?"

"I'm not making it 'based on a Chibi Loop,' it just helped push me to try it!" Ruby sighed, "You know, this isn't how I was expecting you to react; if anything, I was expecting you to try and make death-threats to Penny, warning her to never hurt me…"

"Okay, 1; that's stupid, Penny would never hurt you on purpose, unless you were sparring. And 2; for various reasons, I don't think either I, nor Penny should be making death-threats to each other…" Nate clutched his heart as his eyes flashed blue.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ruby groaned, "Are you going to be on my case about this for too long?"

"… Huh?" Nate blinked, "Oh! No, you do what you want Ruby, I jut wanted to know _why_ this sudden change… all things considered, Penny is probably a good match for you, at least you know you'll still be friends if it doesn't work out…"

"True…" Ruby nodded, the two siblings sat in silence for a moment, "So, speaking of dating… when are you going to ask out Katie?"

"Oh come on Ruby!"

"I'm just saying; _I_ went out on a date, shouldn't you try asking her out?"

"I'm going to bed!"

"You can't hide from this Nate!"

"Goodnight Ruby!" Nate covered his head with his pillow, Ruby laughed to herself.

 **9.24**

Merameraion let out a sigh as he walked down the sidewalk, the day had been pretty boring, there wasn't even anyone that needed to get fired up around lately.

He had been hoping Keita, Fumika or Inaho would summon him, but none of the watch-holders had felt the need to lately it seemed, leaving the fiery yo-kai with very little to do…

And now, instead of summoning him he had suddenly gotten a note from Keita, informing him to meet at his home; to help with his homework… It was something, he supposed, but not much, and why didn't he just summon him?

As he approached the house, the feline yo-kai stopped, hearing what sounded like… quiet voices? And shuffling…?

He put his ear to the door, many footsteps, Keita's voice? But somebody silenced him!? The Isamashi yo-kai's mind raced at what this could mean.

"MERA-MERA! MERA-MERA MERA![INTRUDERS! KEITA-KUN'S IN TROUBLE!]" Merameraion was suddenly lit with a blazing aura, with the intention to punish those that may invade his friend's home and do him harm, without a second though, he kicked the door down, already in a fighting stance, "MERA MERA MERE-MERA! MERA MERE-MERA MERA-MERE!?[STEP AWAY FROM THE BOY! WHO WANTS TO BE FIRST TO MEET MY FIST!?]"

"SURPRISE!" the blazing yo-kai immediately dropped his aggressive stance, gaining a look of surprise at what he was seeing; Keita was fine, not only fine, he was smiling, and surrounded by his other friends; Whisper, Jibanyan, Inaho, Fumika, the rest of the Hot Clan, everyone! There were even a few yo-kai he didn't recognize.

There was a big banner with Merameraion's name on it, food and wrapped gifts were laid out along with decorations that clearly catered to a fiery theme.

"Oh, he's a jolly good lion! Oh, he's a jolly good lion! Oh, he's a jolly good lion! Which nobody can deny!" the guests chanted, Keita stepping over with a gift in hand, Merameraion stared up at him with wide-eyes.

"Sorry about lying to you, and not summoning you, but I wanted this to be a surprise," he kneeled down the stunned lion yo-kai's eye level, giving him a soft smile, "Inaho and USApyon told us all about your backstory, you really did a great thing in life, Merameraion, and I hope you continue to great things for the rest of your afterlife, you've helped me so many times and I couldn't be prouder to call you my friend…"

"… Mera,[… Keita,]" Merameraion looked at the human with stary-eyes, before turning to the rest of the gathered guests, "Mera-mera…[Everyone…]"

"Hey! Let's not get too sappy, let's cut the cake already!" Inaho suddenly exclaimed.

"Don't you have any sense of timing?" Kyubi snapped, glaring at the purple-haired girl, she gave him an innocent smile.

"Nope!"

"You're doing it on purpose at this point, there can be no other explanation, dani…" USApyon muttered to himself, standing next to Inaho, the others, including the guest of honor, began laughing.

"MERA-MERA MERA MERA-MERE![LET'S GET THIS PART STARTED!]" Merameraion cheered, as did the others as the festivities began.

"Um, Keita-kun?" Whisper subtly floated over the Anchor, whom was watching the party go on with a satisfied smile, "This was a nice thing you did, but… what of your parents? Whissu."

"Don't worry about that, I convinced them to go out for romantic evening, and I even told them I'd invite Fumika and Inaho over for a small party, and if they get home before the party is done, that's all they'll see," Keita assured calmly.

"Hmm… very well, whiss," Whisper gave a satisfied nod at the answer.

"Hey, Keita-kun! Come on! Time for pin-the-tail on the magasasu!" Fumika cheerfully called.

"All you kids best back down now, I'm undefeated when it comes to this sort of game, guts!" Guts K announced proudly.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Ningyo crossed her arms and smirked, Merameraion let out another cheer, and the party continued.

 **9.25**

"Ah, what a perfect day at the amusement park, wouldn't either of you lovely ladies agree?" Kyubi, in his human disguise, spoke as he wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the flustered Sarah and Alex.

"Um, yeah… perfect," Sarah smiled as her face went red, as did Alex's.

"So, um… rides, right?" Alex stuttered a bit, trying to keep her red face hidden, Kyubi chuckled, Katie stood by with an annoyed look, her arms crossed.

"Why did I think this would be a good idea?" the Looping girl muttered to herself, before shaking her head and glaring at Kyubi, "Hey, what did I say about seducing my friends!"

"Why my darling Katie, this is not seduction, it's not my fault if my natural charisma causes ladies to make such a fuss over me, I apologies though, if my demeaner is causing you such jealousy," at this comment, Katie growled a bit, while her friends looked concerned.

"W-wait, jealousy?" Alex broke away from Kyubi with a nervous expression, as did Sarah, Kyubi looked slightly annoyed.

"I-I'm sorry, we didn't realize you and Katie were… um," Sarah looked away unsurely, Kyubi glanced at the angry Katie, then back at the two flustered girls, he smirked.

"Oh no ladies, you misunderstand, my previous comment was merely a friendly jab, Katie and I are not in any form of a romantic relationship," Kyubi assured, the two non-Looping girls seemed to a calm a bit, the other present Looper gave the disguised yo-kai a suspicious look, "In fact, I could not claim fair Katie's heart even if I tried, for it already belongs to another."

"Wait, what!?" Sarah exclaimed, her and Alex giving Kyubi their full attention.

"Katie _likes_ someone!?" Alex questioned with interest, Kyubi nodded, Katie's eyes went wide, realizing what the fox yo-kai was doing.

"Kyubi! Stop it right now!" the Looping girl shouted, Kyubi smirked at her, before looking back at the other girls.

"Well yes, in fact, it's a boy in your class…"

"A boy in our class… who could it be?" Sarah questioned, Alex shrugged, a little less interested than Sarah, though she still wanted to know.

"I don't know, Eddie?" she threw out a name.

"Nope, you are close, but it starts with an 'N,'" Kyubi chuckled, Katie had enough and was marching over to the mischievous fox.

"A boy in our class, close to Eddie, name starts with an 'N?'" Sarah pondered, before she and Alex's eyes widened, they looked at each other.

"… No way, it can't be!" Alex spoke in disbelief. Katie had gotten over to them and was grasping Kyubi's shoulder with a snarl.

"Katie, how could you possibly like Nate! He's so… boring!" Sarah spoke up, waving her arms, Katie let out a huff.

"SHUT UP!" this sudden shout from their friend took Alex and Sarah by surprise, they both fell over as Katie started dragging Kyubi away, the two girls shared a dumbfounded look, before looking back in the direction Katie was taking Kyubi.

* * *

"What are you doing!?"

"Helping you," the fox yo-kai said as he dropped his disguise, a smug grin on his face.

"Helping me!? By embarrassing me in front of my friends!?" Katie snapped with a harsh glare, Kyubi smirked.

"Oh, so you're embarrassed about your crush on Nate?"

"That's not what–I mean–Uhg!" the brown-haired girl stomped her foot on the ground, her face going red, "How I feel about Nate has nothing to do with this, it's none of your, or their, business! And it's especially not your place to tease me about it!"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't feel the need to tease you about it if you would just speak up about how you feel!" Kyubi snapped back, an annoyed expression on his face, "Cut me some slack, maybe I just don't know how to help you in this situation; my best friend keeps denying herself happiness that she could easily achieve if she just spoke up!" at this exclamation, Katie's eyes went wide, as did Kyubi's; the fox quickly covered his mouth.

"I'm… your best friend?" the Looping girl asked carefully, Kyubi's ears drooped as he uncovered his mouth, looking away from the human.

"Well… yeah, at least… I see you that way…"

"… Kyubi… of course I want to tell Nate how I feel… but, it's not your place to decide if I should do that, and teasing me about it in front of my non-Looping friends certainly doesn't help…" Katie muttered with a sigh.

"I'm… sorry," the yo-kai admitted, lowering his head, "But, if you want to, why don't you tell him?" Kyubi ceased floating, planting his feet on the ground and looking towards the female watch-holder with concern, "Are you afraid of him rejecting you? Because, I can say with absolute certainty that– "

"No, I'm not afraid of rejection," Katie halted her friend's comment with a shake of her head, "I know he feels the same way about me, probably for longer than I've felt this way about him…"

"Then, what's the problem?"

"I think… I'm afraid of things changing between us, it not working out… of me not being good enough for him," the seemingly-young girl admitted, looking to her shoes with a trouble expression, Kyubi let out a snort which had her flinch.

"I'm sorry Katie, you? Not good enough for Nate? _Nate!?_ That… I just can't take that idea seriously," Kyubi chuckled, Katie glared at him.

"Okay, I get it, the joke that he's nothing special, but I'm serious! Nate is– "

"No, that's not it, Katie," Kyubi raised a hand, letting out a few more chuckles before calming down, "Nate's definitely not the same kid he was in Baseline, and neither are you, but that's not a problem. Katie, that kid is _crazy_ about you, more than that, he _knows_ you. If anything, I bet Nate is worried he's not good enough for _you!_ "

"What!?" Katie gave a dumbfounded look at that thought, "Not good enough for me? How could he ever…?"

"Exactly!" the nine-tailed fox hovered off the ground, circling around Katie as she kept her eyes on him, "You can't fathom him not being good enough for you, and from his perspective, he can't fathom you not being good enough for him!" Kyubi let out a small chuckle, "Even after all this time, it's still silly how overcomplicated humans can make such simple issues…"

"Hey!"

"But… I suppose it's kind of endearing, in a way," the fox gave a gentle smile, Katie kept staring at him, an unsure frown forming on her face.

"… How can you be so sure?"

"Katie, trust me, it will all work out," Kyubi placed a hand on her head, "Tell him how you feel, you'll both be better off for it in the end…" Katie seemed to be soothed by the pat to the head, letting out a sigh.

"I do want to tell him… I will tell him," the girl nodded, smiling towards her yo-kai friend, "But, not right now. I need to do it when I'm ready to," Kyubi gave her a skeptical look, Katie held back a chuckle, "Trust me, Kyubi, I will, I still need some time to think about what I'm going to say…"

"Okay, good," Kyubi smiled again, "And don't you worry, Nate won't reject you, but if somehow he does, or if he doesn't treat you right, Anchor or not I swear he's getting a full-power Alpha Omega to the face!"

"Please don't," Katie pleaded, though the two still smiled, and soon started laughing, when they calmed down, Katie stared at Kyubi with a look of affection, "You know Kyubi… you're my best friend too," the two looked at each other for another moment, before Kyubi pulled Katie into a hug.

"Thank you… Katie."

"Thank you too, Kyubi…" they kept hugging, before they heard the sound of a gasp, they looked over to see Sarah and Alex, staring at them with wide-eyes as they shakily pointed at Kyubi.

"… Oh… I forgot to make myself invisible, didn't I?" Kyubi concluded as he let go of Katie, she sighed and facepalmed as her non-Looping friends just kept staring, unable to form any coherent sentences.

 **9.26**

[Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

Ruby hummed to herself as she walked down the sidewalk after finishing a day of school, as it was a near-Hub Loop.

"Ruby!?" a voice called out behind her.

"What?" the Anchor turned to see a younger girl running up to her; Hailey, or Inaho.

"I heard you're dating Penny!"

"Um… yeah?" Ruby looked confused at the purple-haired girl's shouting.

"Gah! No! This can't be!" Hailey cried out, pulling some sort of chart from her sub-space pocket, "You weren't supposed to go with Penny! I mean, it was a 'maybe' but I was sure it would be Weiss, or maybe Oscar!" Ruby looked over her shoulder suspiciously.

"Is that a shipping chart?"

"Yes! And you've ruined it!" Hailey lamented, "So far everything had lined up with what I expected; Jaune and Pyrrha, Blake and Yang, even Qrow and Winter!" she pointed to certain parts of the chart as she listed off the pairings, "Neo and Zwei was unexpected, but I didn't really expect anything from either of them, so that's fine…"

Um, about that…" Ruby started, but shook her head and glared at Hailey, "Wait, why is this important? I can date who I want!"

"But the fans!" the visiting Looper protested, followed by a pause as she and Ruby stared at each other.

"… What fans?" Ruby asked.

"Um… me?"

"… You should not be making shipping charts about Loopers, Hailey," Ruby sighed, Hailey groaned and put her shipping chart away, "Besides, Weiss and I are moirails," at this, Hailey perked up a bit.

"Oh, cool! So are Nate and I!"

"I don't believe that…"

 **9.27**

"So, by the looks of it, we've got some more extra days this Loop, how do you want to spend them?" Inaho spoke as she walked beside the Anchor along the sidewalk.

"I don't know, any openings at the InaUSA detective agency this Loop?" Keita questioned with a thoughtful expression, Inaho's face lit up.

"Chi-watchi! I thought you'd never ask! We could be an unstoppable detective duo!"

"Excuse me, dani," USApyon spoke up, an annoyed look on his face, Inaho regarded him with a sheepish expression.

"Trio… right, trio…"

"Thank you, dani…"

"Excuse me, I'm here too, whissu!" Whisper interjected, following behind the group.

"Right, and we should probably inform Jibanyan, and maybe Fumika… and she'd also probably bring Kyubi…" Keita muttered in thought.

"Okay! So, the duo-trio-however many doesn't matter! We'll just be a band of detectives!" Inaho exclaimed, trying to retain her enthusiasm.

"Now we're a band? Dani," USApyon gave an unimpressed look, Keita chuckled unsurely, though he noted something as they approached his home.

"Hmm…?"

"What is it, Keita-kun?" Whisper questioned as he hovered over to the Anchor.

"Is that a moving truck over there?" Keita pointed out.

"A moving truck?" Inaho looked curious, glancing towards the boy at her side, "Did you know you were getting new neighbors…"

"No, this is completely new to me," Keita answered with a bit of surprise, Inaho stared at him for a couple of seconds, before her glasses seemed to flash.

"… Aha!" the purple-haired girl suddenly jumped up, Keita was sure he saw a lightbulb briefly appear over her head, "This must be one of those 'world-shaking events!' This is no ordinary Expansion! I knew I felt something when I Woke up earlier! The status quo is about to change!"

"Hey now, aren't you getting a little too enthusiastic about this?" Keita sweatdropped.

"Try living with her, dani," USApyon retorted dryly.

* * *

"Oh, Keita! My little boy, welcome home!" Keita was greeted by his mother when he walked through the door, but something was… off.

"GAH! Mom, did you dye your hair and get contact lenses… under your glasses!?" Keita questioned in shock at the sight of his mother with blond hair and blue eyes.

"Huh, what are you talking about, I'm just fine!" his mother smiled, she seemed to be talking oddly…

"Hi honey! How is the day going!?" Keita jumped back at the sight of his father stepping into the room, also with blond-hair, blue eyes, and speaking a bit oddly.

"Dad!?"

"Just great dear!" his mother responded enthusiastically, Keita gaped while Inaho, Whisper and USApyon stared with dumbfounded expressions.

"Keita-kun, I think something's off about your parents today, whissu…" the yo-kai butler muttered, Keita's eye twitched.

"YOU THINK!?"

"Wah!" Whisper fell over, Keita took a calming breath.

"Sorry Whisper…"

"Keita-kun, have your parents always been blond!? I'm pretty sure they weren't!" Inaho exclaimed.

"Of course they weren't, did you not see his reaction just now? Dani," USApyon interjected before Keita could retort, Inaho blinked as her mind processed this, before she gasped, jumping over to the Anchor and grabbing hold of him by the shoulders.

"Keita-kun! It's the Ouroboros! Quick! Do something! WE NEED TO HALT THE ZOMBIE-APOCALYPSE!" the frantic girl shouted as she shook Keita.

"That's not what this is!" the boy exclaimed, pulling away from her, he let out an annoyed grunt as he started to scan the room for a yo-kai, Inaho seemed both disappointed and annoyed.

"Of course it'll be a yo-kai, it's always a yo-kai, why can't it be Ouroboros this time?" Inaho huffed as she leaned against a wall with crossed arms, Whisper and USApyon both sweatdropped.

"You actually wanted it to be a zombie-apocalypse? Dani…"

"I'm pretty sure this isn't a Fused Loop, whissu… And I don't think Ouroboros turns your hair blond."

"There it is!" Keita exclaimed, shining his light on a shadow that soon revealed a new, yet somewhat familiar looking yo-kai, "It's a nekomata!"

"Meow, a what neow!?" the golden nyan blinked, before shaking his head and staring at Keita, "Wait, you can see meow!?"

"Yes, I see you! What's with you making my parents all weird!?" Keita raged, the cat-yo-kai fell back in surprise.

"S-sorry, I'll stop, I just wanted to share a bit of the American-spirit with them! Meow!" the nekomata shivered, snapping his fingers and Keita's parents reverted to normal.

"Huh… what just happened?" Keita's mother questioned, her husband scratched his head confusedly, before they noticed Inaho.

"Ah, Misora-san, when did you get here?" Keita's father asked politely, Inaho smiled.

"Just now, with Keita-kun!"

"Yeah, we were going to study together, if that's okay?" Keita added convincingly, his parents smiled.

"Well… alright, so long as you actually study," his mother nodded, "But, it's okay if you need to take a break and come down for some snacks."

"Cool! You're awesome Mrs. Amano!" Inaho cheered, Keita nodded, subtly focusing his attention on the new yo-kai again.

"Go upstairs, we'll meet you up there and talk in my room…"

"Meow!" the new nyan saluted, before scurrying up the steps.

* * *

"Okay, over here," Keita lead the yo-kai to his room along with his other companions, Jibanyan's ears perked up as he heard them enter, let out a yawn and stretching a bit; pulling his body up from the bed.

"Thank you, meow!"

"Meow?" Jibanyan tilted his head, jumping down from the bed to see who had come along with his friends, "Keita? What's with the gold nyekomata? Nya."

"Again with that word, I don't know what a neko-whatsit is, but I'm Tomnyan! A cat yo-kai from the U-S-A!" the new yo-kai jumped up with a cheer, Jibanyan sweatdropped.

"And you're a nekomata, whissu…" Whisper added bluntly, Tomnyan glared at him.

"Hey! Stop calling meow names! Meow!"

"It's not a name, it's what you are!" Keita snapped, before letting out a sigh, "Like Jibanyan, see?"

"Meow?" Tomnyan looked over at the red cat yo-kai, who was taking a bite out of a chocobar.

"Cat body, two tails, lit on fire," Jibanyan showed his tails, before pointing to Tomnyan's own, "That makes us nyekomata, nya…"

"Oh meow god! Really!? All this time I thought I was just a 'cat yo-kai,' but there are specific types!? Meow!" Tomnyan jumped up in shock, Jibanyan looked a bit annoyed.

"I knyow you're a cat, but aren't you being a bit excessive with the 'meows?' Nya."

"One could say the same about your 'nyas,' dani," USApyon muttered while shaking his head.

"Oh, like you're one to talk Mr. 'Dani!'" Inaho laughed, USApyon glared at her with a growl, but restrained himself from going Vader Mode. Keita sighed, kneeling down to Tomnyan's level.

"Okay, so what's up? Why are you in my house, and why were you inspiriting my parents?" at this questioned, Tomnyan seemed to pause for a moment, before it came to him.

"Oh right! Sorry about that! I'm your new neighbor, and as I said before; I wanted to share a bit of the spirit of the USA with your family! Meow!" the golden nyan let out a cheer, Keita didn't look convinced as he stood back up.

"If that's the spirit of the USA, how come no American I've ever met has been like that?" the Anchor muttered quietly.

"Well, this is the Loops, Keita-kun, other than 'merican yo-kai, all the Americans you've met have been from different Loops, whissu," Whisper pointed out.

"But USApyon's nothing like this," Keita whispered back to his butler.

"You sure about that?" Inaho inched into the whispering-conversation.

"Obviously I'm not! Dani!" USApyon butted between the three of them.

"Hey, what are you guys going on about neow? Meow," Tomnyan interjected curiously, the group quickly broke up, Jibanyan sighed.

"It's nothing, nice to meet you Tomnyan, and to inform you what a nekomata is," Keita nodded, Tomnyan smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"Yeah! I've made my first new friends in Japan, cool! Meow!"

"Yeah, cool! Meow!" Inaho imitated.

"Don't do that, dani," USApyon grunted.

"Oh, Keita-kun, I see you have a yo-kai watch! Meow," Tomnyan observed.

"Er, yeah, that's how I found you," Keita stated, Tomnyan nodded, before glancing at Inaho.

"Oh meow god! She has one too! That's surprising! Meow!" at the sudden attention, Inaho smirked.

"Of course I have one, a detective must be prepared for any case, even if it involves yo-kai!" she held up her wrist proudly, Tomnyan seemed amazed.

"Yo-kai is pretty much _all_ we investigate, dani," USApyon stated without much care, but went ignored.

"Wow, a detective with a yo-kai watch! That's so cool! Meow!" the American cat-yo-kai clapped his paws together.

"Yeah, sure is… so, wait you moved in next door?" Keita paused to think about that, "But… there were moving trucks? So, were you in disguise our…"

"Oh, you can meet my roommate later! Meow," Tomnyan waved off the concern.

"Roommate?" the Anchor blinked, before Tomnyan pointed to his watch.

"More importantly, I wish to say that those watches of yours are cool, but I heard that an even better model exists! Meow!" after the gold nekomata stated this, Keita and Inaho looked at their yo-kai watches.

"A better model?" the brown-haired boy asked ' _So, this Expansion is adding a new model?_ '

"No way, I didn't hear anything about a new model of Yo-kai Watch! Dani!"

"Neither did I! And as a top-class yo-kai butler, if a new model of Yo-kai Watch came out I would of course know about! Whissu!" Whisper and USApyon looked through their yo-kai pads, Keita and Inaho stared at them blankly.

"You won't find anything about this watch online! Meow!" Tomnyan halted their searching.

"I find that hard to believe, if it exists that is, nya," Jibanyan rolled his eyes.

"It's called, the Yo-kai Watch Dream! Supposedly, it is a truly special yo-kai watch! Something worth coveting!" Tomnyan praised.

"I'm not so sure…" Keita looked skeptical.

"Yo-kai Watch Dream!? I WANT IT!" Inaho exclaimed with stars in her eyes, Keita grunted as she screamed in his ear.

"Now hold it, no information about it? This sounds like one of those urban legends, how can we be sure it exists? Whissu," Whisper questioned, as if to answer him, the closet door slid open.

"It exists, I just found out about it today," Hikikōmori stated quietly, Whisper moved back a bit in surprise, Keita smiled gently at the bat-like yo-kai.

"So, it is real, Hiki-chan?" he kneeled to her eye-level, she nodded.

"Yes, but you won't be able to buy it, you need to win it from a roulette game in Yo-kai Dream Land," the shy yo-kai huddled a bit more into her wings as she kept her eyes on Keita.

"Yo-kai Dream Land?" the Anchor questioned, "Is that some sort of amusement part?" Hikikōmori nodded.

"Yes, it only recently opened, going there and winning one is the only way to get a Yo-kai Watch Dream right now…"

"I see," Keita nodded in understanding.

"No problem, I'll win one of those without issue!" Inaho smirked, "Though, Keita-kun might have some trouble!"

"Hey!" Inaho giggled and stuck her tongue out as Keita glared at her.

"Actually, there's no need for you to win one, Keita-kun," Hikikōmori shuffled a bit, before she pulled out a box with a new yo-kai watch inside; the Yo-kai Watch Dream, the occupants of the room, other than Keita and Jibanyan, gasped in surprise, "I managed to secure one with my connections for you…

"Wow, thanks Hiki-chan!" Keita smiled brightly, petting the closet-inhabiting yo-kai on the head, she seemed to enjoy the affectionate contact, before handing over the watch.

"No problem, Keita-kun, it's the least I can do for you," Hikikōmori chuckled a bit.

"H-hey, do you have one of those for me?" Inaho raised her hand, Hikikōmori glanced at her.

"No, sorry, I only obtained one… but you did say you would have no trouble winning one, so you should have one soon enough, right?" the bat yo-kai tilted her head, Inaho smiled weakly.

"Er… well I guess I did say that…"

"So, we're still going to Yo-kai Dream Land! Meow!" Tomnyan jumped up excitedly.

"Eh, could be fun, nya," Jibanyan shrugged.

"Hey, could I take a look at that, Keita-kun? Whiss," Whisper questioned as he floated over to his friend/master, Keita nodded and handed the boxed Yo-kai Watch dream to Whisper.

"Sure, you can hold onto it until we get back from if you'd like.

"Ah, thank you Keita-kun, whiss," Whisper bowed with a smile, he looked over the box briefly, nodded and stored it in his sub-space pocket.

"I'll call Ungaikyō to send us to take us there…" Keita pulled out the medal of the yo-kai, but stopped as a thought came to him, "Wait… we should get Fumi-chan for this too!" Inaho narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, come on Keita! We don't know how much longer we have in the Loop, and I want my Yo-kai Watch Dream before it ends!" Inaho snatched the medal from her friend's hand.

"Hey! Inaho!"

"You can tell Fumika about it later!" Inaho waved, before she began the summoning process, "Come on out my friend! Yo-kai medal, set-on! Ungaikyō, take us to Yo-kai Dream Land!"

" **Ladies and Gentlemen Fushigi tribe!"**

Before any protests could be made, the mirror tsukumogami had already appeared and sent them on their way.

* * *

"Well, here we are; Yo-kai Dream Land," Hikikōmori introduced as the group emerged from the Ungaikyō, they started to look around at all the attractions and yo-kai, though the most eye-catching thing was the giant roulette wheel in the center of the park.

"Wow, this place is pretty cool, nya," Jibanyan praised as he looked around.

"Oh meow god! It's even more amazing than I imagined! Meow!" Tomnyan exclaimed from his counterpart's side, Jibanyan gave a thumbs-up.

"Hey, look! I see Komasan and Komajiro! Hi Komasan and Komajiro!" Inaho shouted as she waved at the komainu in the crowd, they turned to them and waved back, she smiled at her fellow human, "This place is cool, huh Keita-kun?"

"It is, but it would still be nice to bring Fumi-chan here sometime…" the Anchor muttered wistfully, a smirk made its way to the girl's face.

"Oh-ho! I thought you two weren't 'together' yet, already planning your first date, are you?" Keita's face went red at the sly look Inaho gave him.

"It-It's not like that," Keita protested, though he looked to the side with a considerate expression, "Or… maybe it is a bit like that… but it's still none of your business!" Inaho kept her smirk.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Average-Anchor," Keita let out a growl, "But before you go planning any dates, let's go get my Yo-kai Watch Dream!"

"To play the Dream Roulette, you need to exchange your yo-kai medal for dream medals," Hikikōmori interjected, gesturing to a reception desk.

"Dani?" USApyon blinked, walking over to the desk, he jumped a bit when he saw who was behind it, "Dani!? Jinmenken!?"

"Oh, hey USApyon, how is everything?" the human-faced dog questioned from behind the glass.

"Jinmenken? What are you doing working here? Whissu," Whisper questioned as he floated over.

"Well, this place opened up pretty recently, and they needed some help, so I figured; why not apply for a job? And here I am," Jinmenken shrugged, Keita smiled when he walked over and noticed the brown-furred yo-kai.

"Oh, Jinmenken! Hey!"

"Oh, Keita-kun! Welcome!" Jinmenken smiled back with a wave, "Would you like to exchange your yo-kai medal for some dream medals?"

"Might as well, I've got plenty of 'em," Keita shrugged, placing a Fuu2 medal down, Jinmenken reached through the small hole below the window and took it.

"Huh!? Wait, Keita-kun has a yo-kai medal!? Meow!" Tomnyan exclaimed in surprise, "How can that be!? I thought he was human!? Meow!"

"There's a story behind that we may tell you someday, nya," Jibanyan shrugged, Tomnyan gave an unsatisfied sigh.

"Here are your dream medals," Jinmenken slid three medals back over to Keita; the designs were reminiscent of poker chips, with a depiction of the Anchor's yo-kai form in the center.

"Thanks Jinmenken, keep up the good work," Keita complimented as he took the medals, the bukimī yo-kai gave him a thumbs-up in response.

USApyon and Whisper exchanged shrugs, before lining up to get their dream medals, soon followed by the two nyans and Hikikōmori, Inaho was searching her sub-space pocket for a medal from one of her past, Loop-variable yo-kai forms.

* * *

"Yes! Yo-kai Watch Dream!" Inaho cheered after the roulette had landed on her desired prize, keeping up her cheer as she went up to the reception desk to retrieve it, the others had won various other prizes; such as Jibanyan getting a year-supply of chocobars, but the watch was the reason they came here.

"Here you are, take good care of it," Jinmenken laughed as Inaho giddily took her prize from him.

"I got the Yo-kai Watch Dream! I got the Yo-kai Watch Dream! Yeah!" the purple-haired girl sang as she danced around, USApyon stared at her blankly, one of his own prizes; a model rocket kit, in his hand.

"So did I!" Keita cheered, walking over to Jinmenken, who handed him a second Yo-kai Watch Dream, Inaho froze.

"… Huh!? But you already have one!?"

"It's for Fumi-chan!" the boy snapped, holding the extra Yo-kai Watch Dream protectively.

"Yeah! A year-supply of deliciousticks! Meow!" Tomnyan cheered at his prize.

"I don't knyow what those are, but good for you, nya!" Jibanyan praised.

"I also won some donuts, dani," USApyon added, biting into one.

* * *

"Well, that was fun! Wouldn't you agree Keita-kun? Whissu!" Whisper smiled as they emerged from the Ungaikyō, back into Keita's room.

"Yeah, it was…" the male watch-holder nodded, waving to Hikikōmori as she bowed and ducked back into the closet, "I'll give this to Fumi-chan next I see her," he stored the extra Yo-kai Watch Dream in his pocket, Whisper chuckled.

"Speaking of Yo-kai Watch Dreams, I still have yours stored safely, I'll be happy to help you open it carefu– "

"What's this do!?" Inaho chimed, poking at the Yo-kai Watch Dream on her wrist, ripped up packaging scattered around her.

"It's the searchlight, like all yo-kai watches," Keita pointed out, walking over, Whisper was visibly twitching at the sight before him.

"Ohhh! It's so shiny, meow!" Tomnyan smiled as he stared at the watch.

"Brand nyew watch! Nya! Quick, open yours Keita-nya!" Jibanyan cheered, the Anchor smiled and nodded.

"Sure, hey Whisper, huh…?" Keita stared at his yo-kai butler, who was giving the group a death-glare.

"What are you DOING!?"

"Oh right… you don't like it when we do this…" Keita muttered, looking around at the scattered packaging with a sweatdrop, sighing as Whisper started to rant at the group.

"You really lack foresight you know, we've been Looping with these people for thousands of years, dani," USApyon pointed out to Inaho under Whisper's rant.

"Chi-watchi!" the purple-haired girl stuck out her tongue as she posed with her new watch, completely ignoring the raving ghost.

* * *

"All good Whisper?"

"Okay, I'm calm now, I'm good, whiss…" Whisper eased, Keita patted his back comfortingly.

"You'd think you'd get over stuff like this by nyow, nya," Jibanyan shrugged, Whisper ignored him as he handed Keita his, still boxed, Yo-kai Watch Dream.

"I'll open this one carefully, for your sake," the Anchor assured, Whisper gave a grateful smile.

"So, how is this different from the regular watch anyway?" Inaho questioned as she inspected her new watch, while Keita began opening his.

"It says there's a 'roulette function,' dani?" USApyon stated, looking at some instructional video on his yo-kai pad.

"Roulette function? But we needed to do a roulette to get this," Inaho pointed out, USApyon shrugged.

"I don't know, supposedly If you get a good spin on the Yo-kai Watch Dream's roulette; you can summon a yo-kai in a super flashy way, dani…"

"Ooh, flashy," the bespectacled girl smiled eagerly, but USApyon looked skeptical.

"It didn't really specify though, Dani…"

"Here, try it out! Meow," Tomnyan handed Inaho his dream medal, "We're already friends, so go ahead and take my medal! Meow."

"Cool! Thank you!" Inaho snatched up the medal before inserting it into the watch, Jibanyan watched with interest, as did Keita and Whisper; having finished opening Keita's Yo-kai Watch Dream, Hikikōmori even opened the closet door a crack to watch. "Come on out my friend! Summoning Tomnyan! Yo-kai medal, set-on!" she inserted the medal into the watch, the dots around the face of the watch started to blink.

" **It's Pretty time! Sushi Roulette! Pretty, Pretty! What is going on?! Uh! Pretty, Pretty! Pretty~!"** Tomnyan danced to the song in the summoning circle, before a piece of sushi appeared before him that he ate… which he quickly spat out in surprise, as it was filled with wasabi. **"Too bad!"**

"Spicy!? Meow!"

" **Sushi with wasabi! Sushi with wasabi! A heap of wasabi!"**

"Tomnyan! Ug… meow," Tomnyan whimpered as he fell to the floor.

"Well… that was flashy, dani," USApyon sweatdrop, Inaho stared blankly at the quivering nekomata, before smiling a pulling out another medal.

"I'll try USApyon next!"

"Oh no you won't! Dani!" the otter yo-kai snapped, "If you're summoning me, it'll be with your Yo-kai Watch U! Dani!"

"I'm not sure what the point of the roulette function is," Keita stated, staring at his Yo-kai Watch Dream, he glanced at Whisper and Jibanyan, "Should I try it?"

"Nyot with my medal, nya," Jibanyan commented blandly, jumping up on Keita's bad and taking up a lazy position, Keita looked towards his butler questioningly.

"… Okay, fine, try my medal, whissu," Whisper shrugged, handing a medal to Keita.

"Thanks, though I hope this roll ends up better than with Tomnyan…"

"I hope so too, meow!" the American nekomata cried out, "Why Yo-kai Watch Dream, why did you do this to meow!? I believed in you! Meow," Keita and Whisper stared at him for a second, before they turned their attention back to the watch.

"Come on out my friend! Calling Whisper! Yo-kai medal, do your thing!" Keita called out, placing the medal into the watch.

" **It's Nyroron time! Dream Roulette! Nyororon, Nyorooooroooro, NYOOooorooorooon! What is going on?! Nyororon~! Congratulations!"**

"Whisper! Whissu!" Whisper announced after the song and dance, before looking around curiously, "Hmm… that seemed to be a regular summoning, Keita-kun, whiss."

"Well… it did say congratulations… really, I'm not seeing the point of this though," the Anchor stated, staring at the new watch on his wrist.

"Be sure to summon me with one of your other watches, if you must in the future, nya," Jibanyan noted from the bed, Keita nodded.

"You still going to give the other one to Fumi-chan? Whissu."

"Yeah, I will. I'll just also have to warn her about it, there must be more to it though," the human boy stated, inspecting the watch curiously.

"Well, the video did mention that it had many 'hidden features,' dani," USApyon interjected thoughtfully.

"Hidden features, huh? I'll have to look at that video at some point…" Keita concluded.

"And _now_ it's USApyon's turn!" Inaho attempted to put the yo-kai medal in the watch again.

"Don't you dare! Dani! Or Vader Mode will be the least of your worries! Dani!" the yo-kai Sith snapped dangerously, Inaho quickly separated the watch and medal.

"Well… the Yo-kai Watch Dream didn't turn out as great as I thought it would, meow," Tomnyan shook his head as he padded over to the Anchor, "But I'm still happy to have met you guys! Here, you're my friend too! Meow!" he handed Keita another of his dream medals, he took it with a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Tomnyan, glad you like it here."

"Yeah! This is the start of a beautiful friendship for sure! Meow!" the cat yo-kai suddenly pulled out a guitar, the group of Loopers blinked, before Tomnyan started strumming the instrument, and singing, "~Meow meow mya-mya-meow kitty kitty itty bitty kitty bitty kitty bitty meow kitty moew!"

"Hey, that's not too bad, dani," USApyon admitted, dancing a bit to the beat of the music, Inaho, Keita and Whisper glanced at each other blankly, Hikikōmori shut the door to the closet, and Jibanyan…

"Nyot too bad? Nyot too bad!? How am I supposed to relax with that annyoying nyoise!? NYA!" the red-furred nekomata screeched as he covered his ears in an attempt to block out the sound, Tomnyan obliviously continued to play.

* * *

"Well, that was interesting," Keita admitted once Tomnyan had left.

"That's one way of putting it, nya," Jibanyan grumbled.

"Well, these Yo-kai Watch Dreams are still pretty cool!" Inaho grinned as she looked at her watch some more, before sending a smirk Keita's way, "Bet I can find out what those 'hidden features' are before you!"

"Well you are the detective here," Keita admitted with a thoughtful look, Inaho did a triumphant fist-pump, "On the other hand; I'm the Anchor, and I'm Awake much more frequently than you…" this statement almost immediately took the wind out of Inaho's sails.

"Well… uh, we'll see about that!" the purple-haired girl stomped her foot on the ground, a challenging look on her face, Keita stared at her.

"… Inaho, isn't it about time you should be getting home? For that matter, wouldn't your mom and brother be wondering where you've been all day? I'm pretty sure you didn't have a chance to tell them between the time we left school and got to my house."

"Haku's been covering for me!"

* * *

Riku Misora watched with a suspicious look on his face, at what _appeared_ to be his sister Inaho, dusting the shelves.

"This is too weird, even for her…" the small boy whispered to himself, trying to inch closer without the girl noticing him, however he wasn't quiet enough, with a curious hum, the disguised yo-kai turned to face him.

"Oh, hello Riku-san, is there something I can help you with?" she asked politely, Riku stiffened, "Is something wrong? Do you feel unwell?" she grew worried as she noticed the horrified look forming on Riku's face, she couldn't imagine Inaho would be very pleased if she found her brother had been ill and Haku had done nothing about it while in her place. The white baku in the guise of her human employer began to approach him, but Riku stepped back.

"Y-y-you" the nine-year-old boy took a deep breath, before shouting, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY SISTER!?" without another word, Riku rushed out of the living room, slamming the doors behind him in the process. Haku stood in place for a moment, looking troubled and confused.

"Oh dear, I may have messed that up a bit… Misora-san will not be pleased…"

* * *

The next day at school, Keita met up with his friends; Fumika, Kuma and Kanchi, though unknown to the two non-Loopers, Fumika was also being accompanied by an invisible nine-tailed fox, much like how Keita was by a ghost butler.

"Hey Keita-kun, so are you ready for the test?" Kanchi asked in a friendly manner, Keita smirked.

"Yeah, that test is going to be no problem! I'll get 100 percent, guaranteed!"

"What? Oh come on, you're bluffing or delusional if you think that," Kuma chuckled, Fumika gently jabbed him with her elbow, "Ow!"

"Now Kuma-kun, have you not noticed how much Keita-kun's grades have improved in the last few months?"

"So have yours, Fumi-chan, though it's not as noticeable with you, since you were already so smart," Keita pointed out fondly.

"Oh, but that's not as impressive as your stark improvement in near all subjects over such a small amount of time, Keita-kun," the two smiled at each other while their two other friends stood in awkward silence.

"They're doing that _thing_ again…" Kuma muttered quietly.

"Yeah… hey Kuma, you been feeling a bit like a third-wheel lately?" Kanchi whispered to his larger friend.

"Kind of…" after it became apparent that Keita and Fumika did not plan on stopping their 'staring contest' any time soon, Kuma and Kanchi began to inch away. "So… we'll meet you guys inside…"

"Try not to be late to class," Kanchi added before they went into the building, Keita and Fumika were still staring at one another with absent-minded smiles.

"They're gone you know," Kyubi interjected bluntly, causing the two child Loopers to jump a bit.

"Gah! Kyubi!" Fumika scolded, the fox yo-kai just laughed.

"You should really get to class before you're late, again, whissu," Whisper stated with his arms crossed, "Your grades may have improved, but that doesn't mean the teacher will let you off for tardiness, whiss."

"He may if we summon Ekohiiki," Keita whispered to his female friend, she let out a giggle but shook her head.

"Keita, we shouldn't, we really shouldn't," she tried to stop herself from smiling as she spoke, she failed.

"Why don't you two just get to class, whissu…" Whisper sighed while face-palming, Kyubi smirked.

"Or, we could ditch class entirely and head off as yo-kai for shenanigans, I'm sure temporarily dying is a good enough excuse to not show up for class."

"Don't make suggestions like that! Whissu!" the ghost snapped with an annoyed expression, Kyubi chuckled evilly. Fumika let out a sigh and shook her head.

"I suppose we _really_ should get to class, come on Keita-kun," she waved for the Anchor to follow her, he started to before pausing and pulling something from his pocket.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I got this for you Fumi-chan!" he handed the girl a box, she looked at it curiously.

"… a new yo-kai watch?"

"It's a Yo-kai Watch Dream, it was just added this expansion, Inaho and I already have ours, but I managed to also win one for you," he smiled.

"You won it?"

"I'll explain about that later, as well as some things you should know about that watch, and you probably shouldn't attempt to use it until I do…"

"Okay… so if this is the latest model, and you have one, why aren't you wearing it?" Fumika questioned, pointing to the Yo-kai Watch U Keita was sporting on his wrist, the boy held his wrist up.

"That… will be explained along with the details of the new watch, okay?"

"Okay, either way, thank you for the gift Keita-kun, that was really thoughtful of you…"

"Well… it was only fair to get you one too, so you know…" the two smiled as they went a bit red in the face, Whisper let out an annoyed cough.

"Excuse me, I hate to break up this moment but… YOU TWO NEED TO GET TO CLASS! WHISSU!" the startled kids jumped up, Fumika pocketed her new watch before they rushed into the school building.

"We're going!"

* * *

After class Keita and Fumika were walking side-by-side, Inaho had opted not to join them this time; stating she needed to go home because her brother was going crazy, or something…

"So, the roulette function, you're not sure what it's for?" the brown-haired girl questioned after Keita had finished explaining.

"I don't think I want to be summoned that way, that's for sure," Kyubi huffed.

"There's probably some benefit depending on how it lands, but until I've had a better chance to study it I don't really want to use it," the Anchor shrugged, Fumika nodded in agreement, internally deciding to keep her Yo-kai Watch Dream in her pocket, for now.

"It is surprising we got another model of the yo-kai watch, our Expansions are usually pretty inconsequential, though there are occasional big ones I suppose," the Looping girl shrugged.

"Well there's more to this Expansion than just a new watch, Keita-kun's also got himself some new neighbors, whiss."

"Neighbors?" Fumika blinked, Keita nodded.

"Yeah, someone moved in, not sure where that will go; all I know is they can either see yo-kai, or are a yo-kai in disguise, since I met their roommate."

"Roommate? I assume it was a yo-kai?" Fumika guessed.

"Yeah; a nekomata from America named Tomnyan," he pulled out the medal to show her.

"Huh… looks a lot like Jibanyan," she noted.

"Well… most nekomatas in our Branch do," the Anchor shrugged, putting the medal in his pocket, "That's a dream medal by the way, you get them by exchanging your yo-kai medals at Yo-kai Dream Land, you can use them to play the Dream Roulette game there."

"Yo-kai Dream Land? That's where you got the Yo-kai Watch Dreams, right?" the young girl hummed, her mutual crush made an affirmative sound, "Oh, there's my house!" Fumika noted, moving over to her home and waving to Keita, Kyubi gave a subtle wave of his own, "We can talk more later, Keita-kun!"

"Okay, see you later!" the Anchor waved back along with Whisper, before continuing their path home.

* * *

"I'm home!" Keita greeted as he entered the house, but paused in confusion when he heard unfamiliar laughing coming from the living room, "Huh?"

"Haha! We sure are good friends, huh," spoke a large, cheerful man as he greeted Keita's parents, Keita noted he seemed to have a yo-kai watch on his wrist; the same model as the one Whisper had given him when they first met.

"Oh, we have company," the seemingly-young Anchor noted with a contemplative expression, his parents noticed his presence and smiled at him.

"Ah, Keita-kun, welcome home," his father greeted, before his mother spoke up.

"This is the man who moved in next door, Jerry-san. He came over to meet us."

"Oh, nice to meet you," Keita bowed, Jerry approached him and smiled, extending out a hand to shake.

"Hello! I'm Jerry!"

"Yes, hi," Keita tried his best to keep his smile as the man took his hand and started shaking it enthusiastically.

"We're great friends already, right?" he laughed.

"Yeah, sure…" Keita took a step back and took a deep breath.

"We'll, this isn't really what I was expecting for our new neighbor, whiss," Whisper stated as he hovered around his friend/master, Keita nodded with a small sigh.

"Hey, Keita-kun! Sorry for just barging in on you! Meow!" Keita turned to see Tomnyan standing by the stairs with his guitar in hand.

"Ah, Tomnyan, I assume he's the roommate you mentioned before?" Keita gestured to Jerry, Tomnyan nodded.

"That's right, meow!" he started to strum his guitar and sing, "~Meow meow mya-mya-meow kitty kit– "

"Er, maybe not play that while you're here, Jibanyan really doesn't like it, and he's right upstairs," Keita interrupted gently, Tomnyan stared at him for a moment, before shrugging and putting the guitar away, "Thank you…"

* * *

"Wow! So this is your room, Keita!" Jerry exclaimed as he looked around the room eagerly, the Anchor nodded, noting Hikikōmori peeking through the closet door, before swiftly shutting it, Keita internally thought that was probably for the best at this time.

"Yes, it is, feel free to look around," Keita shrugged; it's not like any item he _really_ cared about wasn't kept in his sub-space pocket, Jerry nodded, and began shining the yo-kai watch light around.

"Hmm, that's a pretty old model of the yo-kai watch, isn't it Keita-kun?" Whisper noted, Keita shrugged.

"I still find uses for that one, even if it's not my go-to summoning watch," having heard a bit of what the Anchor said, Jerry looked towards Keita with an enthusiastic smile.

"Oh! Keita, you had this watch too!?"

"Yeah, that and many other models, including a lot of custo– "Keita was interrupted when Jerry suddenly jumped up and did a twirl, showing his yo-kai watch proudly.

"It's my 'That's Not It' Watch!" he exclaimed, Keita and Whisper stared, Jibanyan let out a few snores from the bed.

"Um… I'm sorry, 'That's Not It' Watch?" Keita questioned in confusion, Jerry nodded.

"Yeah! That's what it does when I set the medal in! Watch!" Jerry took out a Tomnyan medal and proceeded to insert it into the watch… upside down.

" **That's not it!"** Jerry seemed pleased with the voice that emitted from the watch, Keita was unsure if he should correct him or not.

"… Should we tell him that's not how you use the watch?" Keita asked Whisper with a blank expression.

"Er… I don't know if I can really say, Keita-kun, whiss," the spectral butler shrugged.

"Hey, hey, hey! Reeeal ready!" Jerry cheered as he spun around, showing the watch again, "The 'That's Not It' Watch is the best!"

"Yeah!" Tomnyan cheered along with him, giving Jerry a high-five.

"I really don't know if it would be right or wrong to say anything here…" Keita muttered with a dumbfounded expression, he looked to Whisper confusedly, "But, wait… didn't my old watch only do that because one of the MitoMEN decided to live in the watch?"

"I… don't know what to say about that, Keita-kun, maybe it became a standard after yours?" Whisper looked just as confused as his Anchor, the two just stood back, watching Jerry place another yo-kai medal he pulled from… a shopping bag(!?) and inserted it upside down, getting excited again with the watch's repeated phrase.

"Yeah, I didn't actually know you could use the watch to summon yo-kai at first," Tomnyan said as he walked back over to Keita and Whisper, "So Jerry thinks saying 'that's not it' is all the watch does, but he sure does like it," the gold nekomata noted, watching as Jerry inserted another upside down medal.

"That's all good I guess, but shouldn't he also know how to actually _use_ the yo-kai watch?" Keita pointed out, Whisper nodded.

"It would be most beneficial for him to be aware of the ability to summon his allies, in case he is ever in a bind, whiss."

"Yeah, though… which medal should I demonstrate with…?" the Anchor pondered, Jibanyan let out yawn as he awoke from his nap, looking around sleepily; Keita mentally noted _not_ to summon Jibanyan, "Mind if I summon you, Whisper?"

"Not at all Keita-kun, whissu!"

"Alright, great! Hey, Jeri-san!"

"Hahaha, huh?" Jerry stopped in the fun he was having with the 'That's Not It' Watch and turned to the younger male, "Yeah, what's up Keita?"

"I wanted to show you something you could do with the yo-kai watch," Keita smiled as he pulled out one of Whisper's medals, "Come on out my friend! Calling Whisper! Yo-kai medal, set-on!" he inserted the yo-kai medal face-up, Jerry looked intrigued.

" **Ladies and gentlemen! Nyororon tribe! Nyororon! Nyororon! Nyororon! Nyororon!"**

"Whisper! Whissu!" Whisper did a pose as he appeared, Keita smiled at Jerry.

"See, you can use that watch to summon your– "

"Where's the 'that's not it?'" Jerry questioned, looking both disappointed and confused.

"Huh…?"

"I wanted to hear your watch say; 'that's not it,' what a letdown," the large man let out a sigh and shrugged, Keita and Whisper stared at him for a moment, before glancing at each other.

"I… guess the 'that's not it' is all he really cares about regarding the watch," Keita muttered, Whisper looked unsure of what to say.

"So, what's going on exactly? Nya," a more awake Jibanyan questioned, jumping down from the bed.

"Jibanyan! Meow!" Tomnyan greeted, pulling out his guitar, Jibanyan preemptively covered his ears.

"Wait, he doesn't like that! Remember!" Keita pointed out, Tomnyan halted just before touching one of the strings.

"… Oh yeah! Meow!" he put the guitar away, Jibanyan let out a relieved sigh.

"Hmm… Tomnyan, are there more yo-kai here?" Jerry questioned, before he started shining the light around the room, it landed on Whisper and revealed him.

"… Um, hello? Whiss," Whisper waved, Jerry stared at him for a moment, before going back to searching, as if he hadn't seen him, "Well… that was rude, whiss."

"Kind of," Keita agreed, Jerry continued to shine the light around the room, until it landed on Jibanyan.

"Nya?"

"Wow! I found a Japanese yo-kai!" Jerry let out a cheer.

"And what exactly am _I_ then?" Whisper muttered, Jerry approached Jibanyan and grabbed hold of one of his front paws.

"Hello! We're friends now!" he rapidly shook the paw up and down, making Jibanyan a bit dizzy.

"Wait, hold on! We just met!" the red nekomata protested as he was shaken up and down, until Jerry stopped shaking his paw and held out his hand expectantly, "… Nya?" Jerry looked confused at the questioningly look Jibanyan was giving him.

"Your medal?"

"… Huh!? I'm nyot giving you my medal!" the cat yo-kai jumped back and hissed, "I only give my medal to my friends! I don't even knyow you!"

"Come on, where's the medal at?" Jerry approached eagerly, holding his hand out, Jibanyan hissed more but Jerry paid that no heed and reached forward, digging his hand into Jibanyan's pouch.

"Come on, medal? Please? Please!?"

"What!? NYO GET OUT OF THERE!"

"Come on, Jibanyan, my friend! Medal, medal!"

"No!" Keita suddenly rushed over and slapped Jerry's hand away before picking Jibanyan up in a protective embrace, "No grabbing the kitty!" Jerry held his hand, a disappointed look on his face.

"But… medal."

"No! My kitty!" Keita growled; stroking Jibanyan's head, the nekomata let out a happy purr.

"I would steer away from bothering the cat, as well as the bat, if I were you, whiss" Whisper suggested wisely, Jerry looked at him curiously.

"Bat…?" before anymore could be said, Keita moved over to Whisper and grabbed him.

"We can't let this guy meet Hiki-chan, not yet anyway, he'll freak her out," Keita hissed quietly, after a moment of thought, both Whisper and Jibanyan had to agree with their Anchor's assessment.

"Hmm, but I want to get a Japanese yo-kai medal," Jerry stated in disappointment, Jibanyan hissed at him again.

"Well you're nyot getting mine anytime soon!"

"Hmm… hey Keita, please show me around town! I want to make friends with lots of Japanese yo-kai! Okay?" Jerry moved over to Anchor hopefully, Keita sighed.

"Sure… but I won't hesitate to stop you if you start doing anything like you were to Jibanyan…"

"Hmm… what do you mean?" Jerry looked confused, Keita sweatdropped, sharing a dull look with his yo-kai companions, before looking towards Tomnyan.

"… He can't be serious, can he?"

"Meow?" Tomnyan tilted his head, Keita let out another sigh.

"This guy better not turn out to be like _Billy_ …"

"Come now, Keita-kun, I'm sure he's not _that_ bad, whissu."

"Let's hope so, nya…"

 **9.28**

"… You think I should start a club for Looping otakus?"

"Dani?" USApyon looked over from the couch towards the other Looper; Hailey was sitting at the front desk of the detective agency, a thoughtful expression on her face, "What are you talking about now? Dani."

"You've got that 'Council of Looping Pets' you're part of, right? I was just thinking of what kind of group I'd like to be part of," Hailey did a bit of stretch, USApyon gave her a deadpan expression.

"Considering you're not likely to find many Loopers that would proudly self-identify as an 'otaku,' I think you'd be better off focusing on a different aspect… dani."

"Okay, Order of Looping Magical Girls!" the purple-haired girl stood up to do a pose.

"You're not a magical girl, dani…" Hailey fell over at the yo-kai's blunt words.

"WHY MUST YOU REMIND ME!? WHY MUST THE TREE TORMENT ME!" the Looping girl cried out, USApyon groaned.

"… I _literally_ have no idea what you two are talking about," Whapir commented with a duster held in her trunk.

"Dani!?" USApyon jumped a bit, looking at the white baku in surprise, "… How long have you been there? Dani…"

"The entire time…" the three sat in silence for a moment, Hailey still sulking, when the sounds of panic hit their ears.

"What's going on out there," Hailey stood up, her previous sour mood completely forgotten, she moved over to the door and opened it.

"Run! The androids are coming! Run for it everyone!" a man in a police uniform shouted as he motioned for people to run through the streets, "Get yourself and your families to safety! Woman and chil–AH!" he was suddenly struck with a beam of light, the people that were near let out screams of horror.

"No!" a man reached towards the glowing officer, but a woman grabbed him by the arm.

"It's too late for him! We need to move!" the people kept panicking and moving forward, the the glow around the officer subsided and in his place was now an android, resembling the yo-kai Android Yamada.

"What the…?" Hailey muttered slowly, USApyon and Whapir peeked out curiosly. The sounds of panic died down as the last of the citizens funneled out of the street, followed by the sounds of mechanical parts moving, slowly.

Android Yamada came into view, walking slowly towards the newly transformed android, once the officer-turned-android spotted him, Android Yamada raised an arm in a stiff wave, the new android returned this gesture, but when Yamada started to move towards him, the other android turned and began running off as quickly as his stiff, mechanical legs could take him.

Android Yamada stood in silence, his unchanging expression somehow letting off a mood of depression, before continuing on his way.

"… Well that's probably something we should be concerned about, dani," USApyon stated, Hailey looked to be thinking.

"… Oh!" her eyes brightened, "Order of Looping Sci-fi Fanatics! I bet there's a lot of people that would be interested in that!" USApyon and Whapir stared at her.

"… Did you even pay attention to what just happened? Dani."

* * *

"The apocalypse is here, not in the form of zombies, but machines! Somehow this rogue robot has the ability to turn humans, dogs, mailboxes, truly anything into an android like itself!" the news reporter spoke gravely, an image of Android Yamada displayed in a menacing manner behind her, along with other images that flashed by showing various people, animals and objects, transformed by Android Yamada, "Turning to sports…"

Nate pressed the power button on the remote, shutting the TV off before letting out a long sigh.

"So… you going to do anything about this?" Whisper asked as he floated over to the Anchor's side, Nate let out an even longer sigh that slowly turned into a groan.

 **9.29**

[Yo-kai Watch/Doki Doki Literature Club]

"Is something wrong Keita-kun? Whissu," the UnAwake Whisper asked as he followed his master/friend to school, the young boy not looking very enthusiastic.

"Well…" Keita, having only just Woken up, skimmed through his memories, "Whisper, have you noticed Fumika and her friends have been acting… odd lately?"

"What do you mean by odd? Whiss," the ghost questioned with a confused look, Keita sighed.

"Well, not that I'm complaining, but Fumi-chan's been wanting me to spend a lot more time with her the past week, _without_ Kanchi and Kuma that is. On top of that Mika's been trying to get me to play sports with her, and Satoko keeps trying to invite me to go out with her… and the three of them keep getting all passive-aggressive about it towards each other…" Keita muttered the last part uncomfortably, Whisper hummed in thought, before nodding.

"I see. Well, I assure you it's nothing to be concerned about, Keita-kun," Whisper smiled with his arms crossed, "Those three girls are simply at the age where they have started to notice boys, you're a fairly frequent appearance in each of their lives so you're the lucky fella they've decided to focus that attention on for the time being, whissu."

"I am not feeling lucky, if that's the excuse," Keita grunted in annoyance, "If that is the case, why me alone? Why not Kanchi or Kuma? Heck, why not Mao?"

"I wouldn't try thinking too hard about it if I were you, whissu," Whisper stated in a wise tone, "The crushes of young girls can happen for no decipherable rhyme or reason, Keita-kun, not to worry, it's simply a faze. Soon those girls will realize there's nothing really special about you and turn their focus to other potential romantic partners," the yo-kai butler assured smugly, Keita glared at him.

"Oh, is that so…?" the boy's eyes flashed blue, Whisper wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt a shiver travel down his nonexistent spine, Keita's eyes narrowed… before he gained a cheerful smile and nodded, "Ah yes, you're probably right. There's nothing special about me whatsoever, soon they will be back to normal and I can go back to catching bugs with Fumika, Kanchi and Kuma and not worry about girls, thanks Whisper," as the young watch-holder continued on his way to school, the ghostly butler remained in his spot with a look of confusion and terror on his face.

"What… was that feeling just now? Whissu…"

* * *

Keita stepped into his classroom just before class would begin, he looked his classmates as he walked towards his seat.

"Everything seems relatively normal…" the Anchor muttered to himself, Whisper gave him a quizzical look as he followed behind.

"Keita-kun!" Fumika stood up from her seat with a big smile as she approached the boy, "Good to see you!"

"Yeah, hi Fumi-chan…" Keita nodded to his crush, giving her a suspicious look, Fumika didn't seem to notice as she kept her cheerful demeanor.

"So, how's your day been so far? Anything cool happen on the way to school… oh! How about you sit next to me in class today?" the UnAwake girl offered, Keita gave her a questioning look.

"But… that's not where I sit, and neither of the seats next to you are free…" the boy pointed out bluntly.

"Fumi-chan wants you to sit next to her and you're questioning it? Who are you and what have you done with Keita-kun!?" Whisper exclaimed out of shock, Keita chose to ignore him.

"Hold it!" Satoko's voice suddenly interjected, she came from behind Fumika with an angry look on her face, but it was quickly replaced with a friendly smile when her eyes met Keita's, "Hey Keita-kun, you always spend so much time paying attention to Fumika, but never me, why don't you sit by me instead?" Fumika glared at her dark-haired friend as Keita let out a sigh at this situation.

"That's because we aren't really close, Hayashi-chan, why are you suddenly so interested in spending time with me?" as he spoke, Keita subtly used his yo-kai watch to scan the room, but he couldn't seem to find any sign of a yo-kai, the same as when his UnAwake-self checked, according to his memories, his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, you guys barely have anything in common anyway, so maybe you should just stop bugging Keita-kun," Mika spoke up as she walked over to both Fumika and Satoko, both giving her annoyed glares, "But she is right about Fumika taking up all your time, how about we play soccer after class? Just you and me?" the tanned girl gave a smirk.

"I don't think you can play soccer with just two people," the Anchor countered with a groan, before any arguments could be made, the bell rang, signelling that class would be beginning shortly, "Look, we can talk more later, but I should really take my seat," Keita moved towards his seat, a little creeped out that he could almost claim to feel the three girls' eyes following him as he moved to his chair.

"Well… you handled that a lot better than yesterday, I'll admit I expected you to get all flustered again, whiss," Whisper said as he hovered by the boy's seat, Keita just nodded with a thoughtful expression.

"I can't find a yo-kai inspiriting them, but this is not normal behavior… hoping this isn't just another 'Harem Loop…'" Keita muttered a bit to himself, he glanced around the classroom and nearly reeled back when he saw the three girls staring at him intensely from each of their seats, he quickly looked away and shook his head, ' _I don't want to imagine such a creepy look coming from Fumi-chan, even an UnAwake one, without some external cause…_ '

"Dude, what did you do? Those three are all over you lately," Kanchi questioned from his seat, Keita sighed as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I have no idea, Kanchi, I just have no idea…"

* * *

Keita snuck through the halls of the school with narrowed eyes, it was now lunch time, and he'd luckily managed to escape from Fumika, Satoko and Mika's attempts to get him to sit with each of them, _away_ from the other two, and snuck out of the cafeteria without anyone noticing.

"Keita, what exactly are you doing? Whissu," Whisper questioned as he floated up behind the Looper.

"I have reason to believe that Fumi-chan and her friends are being inspirited, so I'm looking for a yo-kai…" Keita answered simply, shining the watch's light around as he moved through the halls. Whisper shook his head disapprovingly.

"Keita, Keita, Keita, there you go again with that nasty habit of yours for blaming yo-kai for everything, strange, sudden interest in you aside, we already checked and there was no yo-kai around them, whiss," the yo-kai butler chastised, Keita barely acknowledged his words as he approached the computer lab.

"Don't you remember when Gurerurin was inspiriting Kanchi? The affects didn't stop, even when they were separated, so couldn't the same logic apply to what's going on with Fumi-chan, Satoko and Mika?" Keita looked suspiciously at the computer lab's door, ' _Computer lab… has this room always been here?_ '

"That was one person, Keita-kun. For a yo-kai to be able to keep inspiriting three separate people while being apart from all of them it would need to be a very powerful yo-kai, plus I've never heard of a yo-kai that makes girls obsess over a boy! Whissu."

"Yakimochi, Motemoten, Motemacool…" the Anchor muttered under his breath as he opened the door, he stepped into the room and started shining the light around.

"I'm telling you, there is no yo-kai. And, even on the highly improbable chance that I'm wrong, such a yo-kai would not be found in a compu– "

"Found it!"

"WHAT!? WHISSU!" Whisper's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as Keita's yo-kai watch revealed a yo-kai hovering over one of the computers; resembling a highschool girl, with pale skin, glowing green eyes, and pink hair with a ponytail that split off into three tentacles, the tips of which were each glowing.

"Oh my, it seems I've been found…" the yo-kai spoke, sounding a little emberrased, Whisper started looking through his yo-kai pad, Keita noticed a Ping and sent out his own, noting that the yo-kai did react.

"So, are you the one inspiriting my friends?" the Anchor asked carefully, the visiting Looper tapped her fingers together nervously.

"Well, see the thing about that is– "

"Found it! That's Monika!" Whisper suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards the girl, "She can use her influence to cause a group of girls that are normally the best of friends to become obsessed with the same boy and fight each other over him, destroying their friendships in the process! Whissu!" Whisper shouted accusingly, Keita noticed as Monika looked down in shame, "She's the yo-kai that makes you go; 'Eh, why are all those girls fighting? They've always been such good friends, but suddenly all they care about is that new guy,' whissu."

"Great…" Keita stated sarcastically, before looking towards Monika, "So, I take it from your body-language that you're not exactly proud of that description."

"You could… say that," Monika nodded, giving a sigh as she looked back at him.

* * *

"I see, so you can't really stop yourself from inspiriting people," Keita concluded after getting an explanation from Monika, the visiting Looper nodded.

"Yes, I don't mean to make friends fight, but when I'm around it just sort of happens…" she let out a depressed sigh, gripping the tentacles that sprouted from her hair, "All three lights are still active, that means the girls are still in the 'running' to win your heart, once only one is left and a girl has 'won,' the inspiritment should wear off… but it's often at the cost of the girls' friendships…"

"I see, that's troublesome," the Anchor muttered thoughtfully, Whisper nodded in agreement, "So you don't know how to stop the inspiritment without one of them 'winning?'"

"But by that point their friendship will likely be ruined beyond fixing! Whissu!" the yo-kai butler exclaimed dramatically, Keita sighed.

"Yeah… plus I'm not ready to date," at this comment, Whisper gave the Anchor a strange look.

"Not ready to date? But what of all your pining after Fumi-chan!? Whissu!"

"That's a topic for another day, Whisper…" Keita grumbled as he averted his eyes, "The fact of the matter is, we need to find a way to snap those three out of this…" the Anchor looked to be in thought for a few more seconds, before he seemed to get an idea, "Whisper…"

"Um, yes Keita-kun? Whissu…"

"Do you think you can go to the yo-kai world and see if you could find anything that could help with the situation, anything at all that you think might help," the human boy pleaded, the yo-kai butler stared at him with a look of slight shock, before shaking his body and giving a salute.

"Why of course Keita-kun! Your faithful yo-kai butler will not let you down! Whissu!" Whisper gave an enthusiastic shout, before flying out of the room, Keita waved while Monika stared with an unsure expression, before the Anchor nodded.

"Now that he's gone…" he turned his attention back to the visitor, "Let's have another talk, Looper-to-Looper…"

"… Yes, let's," the visiting Looper nodded back to him, giving a small smile.

"I can tell you're not comfortable with what your inspiritment is doing to my friends, so I'm sure you really don't know of a way to undo it in a simple manner…"

"Yeah, it… hits a little close to home," Monika admitted with a frown, "Though I fudged the truth a little on how I ended up inspiriting them; my UnAwake-self actually did it on purpose, gleefully in fact. I Woke up soon after, but it seems while my current form can easily inspirit a group of girls, unispiriting them is not so simple."

"Waking up soon after your UnAwake-self does something stupid, and you don't know how to fix it?" Keita muttered with a nod, "That sucks…"

"Yeah, it does," Monika brushed a bit of her hair to the side with a small grumble, "I am sorry about your friends, I just don't know how I could fix it…" Keita smiled.

"Don't worry about it, I can nullify that inspiritment no problem," at the cheerful assurance from the local Anchor, Monika gave him a blank expression.

"… Wait, you can just fix this? Than why haven't you yet!?"

"Well, Whisper's not Awake, and I didn't want to try to explain to him why I can just nullify a yo-kai's inspiritment," Keita explained with a shrug, "Plus, I wasn't sure if they were being inspirited, since I couldn't find anything. But now that I've found you, and Whisper's out of the room, I can just cancel your powers and give Whisper some other excuse when he gets back…"

"Well, fine, why not," Monika shrugged back to the other Anchor, before letting out an annoyed sigh, "Sheesh, I really thought I screwed something up here for a second…"

"No, but your concern is appreciated," Keita smiled as his body was surrounded by a blue aura, Monika felt her yo-kai abilities being suppressed as the boy held out his hand towards her, "There, Fumika, Satoko and Mika should be back to normal by the time we get back to class…"

"That's good to hear," Monika sighed as she hovered around the room, glancing at some of the computers with an unreadable expression, Keita kept his eyes on her as she moved around.

"So… you want to talk about anything else…? Oh right!" the boy took a quick look in his pocket, before pulling out a yo-kai watch, Monika looked at him strangely, "Standard procedure, every first-timer to our Loop gets a yo-kai watch!" the human grinned as the visiting Anchor took the watch and looked it over curiously.

"Oh, well thank you, not sure how useful this will be back home though," she smiled sheepishly, Keita chuckled.

"I know, but it's still nice to have, especially if you ever end up back here as a human, it also tends to work in most other Branches with invisible spirits or creatures of sorts…" Keita reached into his pocket again and handed Monika a medal depicting Fuu2.

"Huh, a yo-kai medal?" the humanoid yo-kai took the medal, her in-Loop memories informing her on what the object was.

"That's my yo-kai form; Fuu2. We're friends now, so it makes sense to give you that," Keita nodded.

"Isn't it a little soon to start calling me your friend?" Monika questioned skeptically, Keita looked at her with a tild of his head.

"Huh… is it? I didn't think so, you seem nice, you didn't cause any trouble on purpose, I don't see why we shouldn't be friends," Keita muttered thoughtfully, "Though… if you don't want to be I suppose I shouldn't try and force the idea…"

"No, it's fine," Monika quickly assured the child, waving her hands a bit after pocketing the watch and medal, "It was just a little surprising is all, that you'd want us to be friends so soon after meeting…"

"I suppose I can be a bit too quick to call someone my friend, that's just how it usually is with yo-kai I meet," Keita admitted with a shrug, Monika let out a small laugh, before handing the boy a medal depicting her current form.

"Well, if you're going to give me your medal, I might as well give you mine as well… even if I'm not usually like this."

"Thanks, Monika, I'll be sure to keep it safe with the medals of other Loopers I've met in yo-kai form," Keita smiled graciously as he took hold of the medal, before quickly storing it away, "So, do you mind if I ask what your home Loop is like?"

"No, I don't, though there really isn't much to say," the visiting Looper admitted unsurely, "My three friends and I live in a computer game, kind of… Well, it's technically four friends but… the fourth is…" Monika seemed to be struggling to find the proper words for what she was trying to say, "We thought he wasn't really anything, just a… puppet? Something with no mind of his own, but… lately… I don't know. I feel like things aren't so certain," Monika let out a defeated groan, "Sorry, I don't mean to start bringing this up with you, but it's… a difficult topic for my friends and I back home…"

"It's fine, you don't need to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'll listen if you want," Keita assured, Monika nodded, though it didn't look like she was planning to continue, "… So, you live in a computer game? What's that like?" Monika didn't have to think long on that.

"Well, to be honest it was pretty boring at first. Until I learned a bit more about coding, now I can do some interesting things back home," the visitor grinned, "Of course, programming some basic things like being able to eat I find necessary almost every Loop."

"You don't have that by default?"

"You'd be surprised what we don't have by default. But once I get the basic stuff out of the way, there are some other directions that I can go…"

* * *

"I can't believe Monika was able to just 'figure out' how to turn off her inspiritment! And I looked all over for this 'harem-repellent, whissu!" Whisper lamented with a small shopping bag in hand, Keita sweatdropped, though he smiled at his incorporeal butler.

"Well, I thank you for the effort anyway, it was all kind of unexpected…" the Anchor assured as they stepped into the classroom, when he noticed Fumika talking with her friends in what appeared to be a friendly manner, his smile grew.

"Oh, Keita-kun," Fumika greeted as she took notice of him, Satoko and Mika smiled when they saw him, "Sorry about all that nonsense earlier, we don't know what came over us."

"No problem Fumi-chan, I'm just glad to see you back to normal," the Looping boy assured, Fumika Satoko and Mika all giggled a bit with slightly red tinted faces, "Huh…?" the Anchor took notice of this with a bit of suspicion.

"Yeah, it was so silly. After all, why fight over you…" Mika smirk as the three moved closer to the boy, Keita took a step back.

"When we can all spend time with you!" Satoko grinned.

"Though we haven't decided on a schedule yet, but we think on the weekend we should all spend time together, but for today maybe you should decide which you should spend time with," Fumika suggested, sharing a cheerful grin with her two friends, Keita's eye twitched.

"… I knew it! It was a Harem Loop in disguise all along!" the Anchor suddenly shouted, rushing out of the classroom, much to the shock of his teacher and classmates.

"Amano-kun, you can't just– "the teacher started, but was interrupted by the three girls that rushed out the door after him.

"Keita-kun, where are you going!?" Fumika called out.

"You haven't even decided which of us you'll spend time with today yet!" Satoko added as she and Mika followed closely behind Fumika.

"Wait Keita-kun! The repellent! The repellent! Whissu!" Whisper shouted as quickly flew out of the room to catch up to the Anchor, the class was left in silence as the teacher tried to figure out what to do now. But out of the class, none were more confused than Kanchi and Kuma.

"… Hey, Kanchi," Kuma started, turning to his smaller friend.

"Yeah, Kuma?" the other boy responded blankly.

"What. Did. Keita. Do…?"

"I don't have any good answer for that Kuma, but I would very much like to know… for science," Kanchi stated firmly, Kuma looked like he didn't know how to respond to that, so they just sat in silence.

 **9.30 Black Omochao & Mighty TAB X**

"So… this is odd," Nate commented at the sight of numerous emus, invisibly walking around the town.

"Meh, ghost emus don't seem that weird for our Baseline," Katie smiled at his side.

"But why are there so many? Was the town built over some mass emu graveyard or something?" the Anchor asked skeptically.

"Hard to say, but I don't think it's worth worrying about," the female Looper shrugged, Whisper, Jibanyan and Kyubi all nodded, though Jibanyan gave a hiss when one of the emus tried to bite his tails.

"If you say so, but I still question why there are so many," Nate grunted, picking Jibanyan up and holding him away from the spectral emus that were taking an interest in him.

"Nya…" Jibanyan groaned.

"… Dude, what are you guys talking about?" Bear asked as he and Eddie looked towards their friends with confusion.

"You keep looking out into the crowds, but there's nothing of interest I can see," Eddie pointed out with a bit of frustration, Nate and Katie looked at the two, before turning to each other again and chuckling, their friends kept staring at them with confusion.

"Hey, no biting the tails!" Kyubi snapped at one of the ghost emus that tried to bite at one of his tails.

"I am not food in any way, shape or form!" Whisper shouted as he floated out of reach.

"It must be ... a YO-KAI!" Katie exclaimed.

"Katie, Nate and I have been Looping for much longer than you. It may just be a glitch, not even a worry– "Whisper explained before he was interrupted.

"Found it," Nate said simply. The yo-kai in question was an emu with a cowboy design.

"... I was just testing you," Whisper responded to Katie's stare.

 **9.31 Darkflare75**

[Red vs Blue/Yo-kai Watch/RWBY]

Griff glared at the Red vs Blue loopers with a seriousness that their branch of Yggdrasil very rarely experienced from a member of Blood Gulch, "Nobody under any circumstance is going to mention anything about our latest Expansion to my Looping family until I talk to them first. **Is That Clear?"** he finished darkly promising pain and misery to anyone who disobeyed, getting general sentiments of agreement from everyone Griff walked away.

Simmons followed after him a few minutes later. He found Grif sitting on the cliff in the middle of their boxed canyon. He carefully approached his friend. "Sooo" Simons softly drew out, "Do you have any idea what you're going to tell them?"

Grif looked over his shoulder and seeing that it was only Simmons let out a depressed sigh,"Not a fucking clue. I just attempted suicide in Baseline Simmons, over pizza! What am I supposed to say about that?"

"I don't know." Simons answered helplessly, "We all love the RWBY Loopers and they have gone through so much as is, at least you didn't succeed. I really don't know what we would tell them then."

Grif snorted, "Ya, I really need to thank Doc for saving me. Even though I doubt I will in Baseline."

"Well, we aren't our Baseline selves, we can try and be better," Simmons said, glad that Grif was at least lightening up a little bit.

"You're right," Grif said standing up, "I think I will go thank Doc now. Then, I'm going to spend the next couple Loops thinking about how I'm going to tell Ruby and the rest of the family."

 **Several dozen loops later.**

Grif looked at his assembled siblings in team RWBYs dorm room. Nate, Ruby, Yang, and Cinder were all sitting around the room in various states of boredom. He realized that this was probably going to be the largest gathering of their family until the wedding Loop.

He really didn't want to have this conversation during that Loop, which meant that he had two options: Do it now or wait until after the wedding. With much reluctance, he cleared his throat to get his siblings attention, "Hey, guys, we need to talk," he said solemnly.

The rest of his siblings shot concerned glances at each other. They weren't sure what was going on, Grif wasn't the type to call a family meeting without reason so they knew that whatever was going on was serious.

Seeing the concern on his siblings' faces before he had told them what had happened made Grif hesitate but knowing that they would find out sooner or later gave him the strength to push on. He would rather have them learn about this from him than someone else, "You're all aware that we have been getting Expansions?" He asked.

"You're not dead, are you?" Ruby asked nervously. There were a lot of Red vs Blue loopers who had died in Baseline, so Grif's death was a possibility.

"No," Grif said, shaking his head, "My Baseline-self attempted suicide."

The relief they felt at finding out that Grif wasn't dead was quickly replaced with alarm at finding out their brother was currently suicidal. Cinder was the quickest to ask a follow-up question. "What happened?"

"Doc and Me time-traveled into a world where pizza never existed."

Yang, Cinder, Nate and, Ruby all winced. They knew what pizza meant to an UnAwake Grif, having seen him eat at least 50 times his own body weight of it in one go.

"When I realized that Pizza didn't exist, my Baseline-self grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin. Fortunately, Doc got the grenade away from me, tackled me to the ground and protecting me with his own body."

"Is Doc ok?"Asked Nate.

"Yeah, we both walked away from it. The big thing about this talk is that I wanted you guys to hear about this from me and to tell you that everything is fine. Doc and me went back in time and are trying to recreate pizza for the future," his siblings appeared unconvinced by his claim that everything was fine, "Ok, so Doc might have made an abomination out of pizza but that's between me and him," he said nervously.

They still seemed to not trust him. Grif sighed "You know what, let's just watch the new episodes. They will do a better job of explaining than I can."

Two episodes of Red vs Blue latter Grif slowly looked over at his siblings all of them were glaring at him for not mentioning the fact that Doc had abandoned him in the sixth century. He chuckled nervously. "Would you believe that I'd been so busy worrying about how you were going to take my attempted suicide and my anger with Doc about the pizza he made that I completely forgot that he left me there?"

Ruby, Yang, Cinder, and Nate all let out exasperated sighs before looking at each other. They enveloped Grif in a group hug as one. Since Ruby was the fastest of the group had gotten to Grif first she ended up squeezed up against his chest. She smiled at her big brother.

"Don't ever change Grif."

 **9.32**

"We got some more days again this Loop, do you suppose something is going to happen?" Keita muttered, flopping onto his bed and looking towards the ceiling, Whisper floated around the room; absentmindedly dusting, Jibanyan slept at the foot of the bed, Hanahojin stood in the corner of the room, picking his nose.

"Eh, just more days for us to live our lives, I doubt anything big is going to happen so soon after last Expansion's additions of new neighbors and a new yo-kai watch, whiss," Whisper stated with confidence.

"I suppose, but I can't help but… hmm…?" Keita paused, his eyes widening a little

"Hmm, Keita-kun? Whiss," the yo-kai butler looked over at the Anchor curiously.

"Dad? Everything okay?" Hanahojin asked in concern.

"Did… either of you just feel that?" the human boy looked towards the yo-kai, his eyes still wide, "That… huge burst of spiritual power…?"

"What…? Keita-kun, we haven't exactly honed our senses as much as you apparently have over the Loops, whiss," Whisper explained with a shrug, "But I will admit, now that you've pointed it out I do feel… _something_ , what exactly do you make of it? Whiss," Whisper shivered a bit as he put his focus on the strange burst of power.

"I'm… not sure, but…" Keita got up from the bed, causing Jibanyan to stir a bit, opening one eye, Keita moved over to his window and looked up at the sky, staring at it intently, "Something's out there guys, something big…"

"Is that good or bad?" Hanahojin questioned carefully, Keita stepped over to him and put a comforting hand on his son's head.

"I can't say for sure, but whatever it is, I doubt it's something we can't handle…"

"Nyawn, so, I only caught like, half of that, but are you sure you didn't just imagine it… or maybe it's a visiting Looper? Nya?" Jibanyan questioned, padding over to Keita and rubbing his head against the Anchor's pant leg affectionately.

"Maybe I did Jibanyan, but this is uncharted territory for us, Baseline has expanded, and we have no idea what could happen…" Keita let out a sigh, the cat yo-kai narrowed his eyes as he looked in the direction of the window, they widened a bit as he picked up a bit of the spiritual energy, but quickly shook it off, forcing a confident grin.

"We handled Tomnyan and Jerry just fine, whatever else could happen, I'm sure it will all work out, nya," the small nekomata let out a purr as rubbed up against the Anchor again, Keita smiled and stroked his fur.

"You're right, Akamaru, we can handle whatever comes our way, I suppose I just can't help being wary; our Expansions have been very inconsequential for such a long time, and now suddenly we've been getting bigger Expansions, with a new tribe of yo-kai, than new neighbors and the Yo-kai Watch Dream, I can't help but feel it's all building up to something…"

"Maybe the multiverse is telling you to finally buckle down and ask Fumika to be your girlfriend? Whissu," Whisper floated over with a playful smirk, Keita froze up at this, his face going red.

"… Dad? Will it be okay for me to call Fumi-chan 'mom' soon?" Hanahojin questioned.

"He already does it behind both of your backs, nya," Jibanyan climbed up the flustered boy's shoulder and whispered to him.

"What, gah!? Why would you… this is not the time for that!" the Anchor protested, a wave of yo-kai energy knocking back Whisper and Jibanyan.

"No… need to get all huffy, Keita-kun, it was all in good fun, whissu," the Nyororon yo-kai butler muttered dizzily.

"Why didn't Hanahojin get knyocked away? Nya…" Jibanyan groaned, pointing towards the nose-picking yo-kai still by the Anchor's side, Keita crossed his arms with a stern look on his face.

"Because, one. He's my _son_. And two. _He_ asked a legitimate question, you two were just teasing me!"

"Okay, so maybe not the time for teasing, whiss," Whisper admitted, floating back up and glancing at the window, a look of worry flashed across his face, "Do you really think something's going on Keita-kun? That something big is out there? Whiss…"

"I can't say for sure Whisper, but I do know one thing; my soul is not at ease, not at all…" the human boy stated, clutching his chest with a slightly pained expression, Hikikōmori watched from the closet, a concerned look in her eyes.

* * *

"Fumika, you noticed that, didn't you?" Kyubi floated by his human partner's window, his tails and ears sticking up as he stared at the sky, eyes narrowed, Fumika walked over and opened the window.

"Kind of… something ominous, right?" she clutched her chest, eyes flashing pink.

"I can't say for sure, something worth reporting to our Anchor at least, though he probably already noticed…" the nine-tailed fox kept his eyes focused on the sky as he spoke, Fumika looked at him in surprise.

"What? _You_ actually think something is worth reporting to Keita-kun? This must be serious…"

"I don't know what it is, but I'm on edge, and that's not exactly easy to do to a Looping, S-rank yo-kai."

"Unless you're Cinder," the human girl pointed out, Kyubi twitched.

"… Can we _not_ mention Cinder, especially with the possibility of this latest Expansion bringing some kind of disaster?"

"Er… sorry, still… I get what you mean, something about this sudden burst of energy is… unsettling," Fumika admitted, staring up at the sky just as intently as her companion.

* * *

"Dani…" USApyon let out an unsure noise as he stood in the InaUSA detective angency, Inaho looked over at him blankly.

"USApyon? Something up?"

"Don't know, just had this… strange feeling, dani…"

* * *

Komasan, Komajiro and Jinmenken were having a picnic together, in celebration of the success of their band; Mr. Inudren, this Loop, however as they were about to eat, they all froze and stared at the sky.

"… So, I'm not the only one who just had all the fur on their back stand up straight, right?" Jinmenken questioned worriedly, the two komainu remained silent, both shivering slightly as they kept staring at the sky.

* * *

Ningyo came to the surface of the water, looking around curiously.

"What… was that feeling?"

* * *

Guts K stood on the roof of his home, making sure to keep watch of his wife as she sat on the front deck of their home, when he suddenly froze up and turned to look at the sky, in the direction of New Sakura Town.

"… That can't mean anything good."

* * *

"I'm not sure what that power was, but we should probably call the others and make sure nothing huge happens and catches us off guard," Keita concluded as he paced around the room.

"Now, Keita-kun, aren't you getting a little too worked up over a little burst of spiritual energy? Whissu," Whisper questioned, though he seemed a bit unsure of his own words.

"Yeah, it's too early for this… nya," Jibanyan yawned, Hanahojin turned towards him.

"… Jibanyan, it's mid-day…"

"… Nya?" Jibanyan blinked, before looking over at the clock, he let out a gasp and his eyes widened, "OH NYO! I'M LATE FOR THE NYAKB CONCERT!" Keita and Whisper gave the panicking nekomata deadpan expressions.

"Are you serious?" the Anchor questioned crossly, Jibanyan simply rushed out the door without responding, Keita sighed, "Well… nice to see Jibanyan has his priorities straight…"

"Give him a little credit, it's been a while since a 'new' NyaKB event came around for him to enjoy, whiss," the yo-kai butler pointed out, Keita let out another sigh and nodded.

"Yeah, I get that… still, I feel like something's going to happen, and we shouldn't ignore it…"

"Well if something is going to happen, we'll know it when it happens, right?" Hanahojin tilted his head a bit.

"Exactly! No use worrying about a future we have no idea about before it happens, whissu!" Whisper exclaimed, Hanahojin blinked and looked up at him.

"… That's not _exactly_ what I said," as Hanahojin spoke, Keita stood to the side, looking out the window again, still looking worried and contemplative, his eyes widened as the power he sensed suddenly spiked, but before he could speak up about it, a loud shockwave seemed to emit from the sky, permeating throughout the city, the Anchor and his companions covered their ears at the sudden noise.

"Ah! Whisper, what is that!?"

"I don't know Keita-kun! But it's loud!" Whisper cried out.

"Too loud!" Hanahojin protested, reluctantly removing his fingers from his nose so he could block out the sound.

* * *

"NyaKB! NyaKB!" Jibanyan chanted after using a teleportation grenade (or as Jibanyan insisted on calling them; 'Master Grif's Future Cubes') to appear just outside the concert area; rushing in and finding Robonyan F-type and Bushinyan.

"You're late, nya" Bushinnyan commented in a calm manner.

"Very late, the concert is almost over. I assume you overslept," Robonyan F-type commented robotically, Jibanyan groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, I knyow! It can be hard to balance both laziness and NyaKB you knyow!" the red nekomata exclaimed, Bushinnyan gave his descendant an unimpressed look, though Robonyan F-type nodded in understanding, Jibanyan looked towards his mechanical counterpart, "Please tell me we're having a Mikasa glitch and I'll get your memories nyext Loop!"

"Affirmative!"

"Oh, thank Enma! Nya!" Jibanyan gave a sigh of relief, Bushinyan gave the two a strange look, but didn't question their words, however their conversation was cut short when a loud sound assaulted their ears. "Ah! What is that!? Nya!"

"Nyo idea! Nya!" Bushinyan cried out, Robonyan F-type turned off his ears. Strangely, none of the humans in the crowd seemed to notice the booming noise, nor did they notice as the world began to change around them.

"What is this… nya?" Jibanyan muttered as he recovered from the sudden noise, looking over his body and the world around him.

"What happened, nya!? Everything looks…" Bushinyan tried to find the right words.

"Photogenic?" Robonyan F-type suggested, Jibanyan sweatdropped.

"That's nyot the word I'd use… nya."

"… Liar," Robonyan F-type stated plainly, Jibanyan groaned.

* * *

"… Whisper, what happened?" Keita asked carefully as he looked around the room, noting how the style of the world around them had changed.

"Everything's so much more detailed… it's unsettling," Hanahojin stated, hiding behind Keita, his fingers already back in his nose.

"I don't know Keita-kun! But I'll now admit you were right about something maybe happening! Whissu!" Whisper exclaimed as he zoomed around the room frantically, he was looking through his yo-kai pad, "I can't find anything on this phenomenon! There's no information on something like this! Whissu!"

"This is too weird," Keita shook his head, walking over to a small mirror and looking at himself, "… My hair shrunk!" Whisper stared at him.

"That's what you take note of!? Whissu!"

"It's what stuck out to me most, but this is weird!" Keita sighed, "We've changed style to very… Hub-like?" he paused in that thought, "But… normally we don't notice things like 'style' don't we? Whenever I've Looped into another world, or had a Hub-Loop, I've never noticed a difference in my 'style,' unless it was like being chibi, or a lego-figure, but now I do? That doesn't make any sense!"

"I'd be less concerned about that, and more about whatever had the power to cause this massive shift in reality," Hikikōmori commented from the closet, Keita shook himself out of his current mental-state and nodded.

"Right, right, whatever caused this is significant, especially with that power we felt before, it had a large spike right before that noise, and that's probably what caused the world to change!" the Anchor concluded with a serious tone, "But… what do we do about it?"

"Well, as the Anchor it is your responsibility to insure the stability of our world… so we should make sure whatever caused this isn't a threat to that stability! Whiss!" the egg-shaped ghost exclaimed in a dramatic fashion, Keita seemed to take this thought into consideration.

"I mean… that makes sense, we've dealt with time-travel, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was another thing that could crash Loops if not handled correctly…"

"Keita!" a voice suddenly called from downstairs, along with the sound of footsteps coming up to his room.

"Mom?" Keita jumped a bit at the sudden voice.

"Grandma?" Hanahojin blinked, his father nodded.

"Will she notice the change of the world? How would she even react to that?" Keita muttered worriedly, "Why is she coming up anyway?"

"Keita" any further thoughts were halted when Keita's mother opened the door, seemingly unbothered by the changes that had taken place, the Anchor halted himself from showing any reaction of surprise.

"Yes, mom?"

"Your father is out of supplies; can you go buy some?"

"Um… sure, I can do that," Keita nodded.

"Thank you, be sure to get them before the end of the day," his mother smiled, Keita nodded again.

"Yeah, okay… um, mom?"

"Yes, Keita?" Keita looked unsure of how to ask the question he wished to.

"Do you notice anything… different?" the dark-haired woman gave her son an odd look.

"Different? What do you mean Keita-kun?"

"Well… about the world, about me?" Keita gestured to himself, his mother stared at him for a moment, before smiling.

"Oh! Well Keita, that's just part of growing up; as you yourself go through changes, it seems like the world does as well; it can seem scary yes, but it's all perfectly natural and nothing to worry about, but if you ever need to talk to anyone about it you can always ask your father or I," the woman assured with a motherly tone.

"… Right, that's what I meant," Keita nodded slowly, "But, um, don't worry; I don't need to talk about it… not now anyway, just, um, let me have my room for a few more minutes and I'll be sure to get on that errand!"

"Well, okay, just as long as you remember to get to it," Keita's mother shrugged, moving to exit the room, Keita nodded as he closed the door behind her.

"Yes, yes! I'll definitely do it!" after the door was closed he turned to Whisper and Hanahojin with a flustered sigh, "Well, that _almost_ went in an awkward direction…"

"True, though we did find that your mom doesn't seem to notice the way the world has changed, whiss," Whisper stated as he hovered by his friend/master's side, "Or, if she did notice, she's really good at hiding it! Whissu."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she didn't notice… which raises more questions about what actually happened," Keita groaned, "Though… we do have an excuse to leave the house now, I've already got any supplies dad could need in my pocket, but we need to get out there and find the source of that energy, and most likely, that noise, to figure out what is going on!"

"Couldn't agree more Keita-kun! Let's get to the bottom of this! Whissu!" Whisper cheered, Hanahojin gave a noise of approval.

* * *

"Grah! What is this!? What was that!?" Kyubi shouted in a near panic as he hovered around Fumika's house, said girl watching him from the porch, occasionally fidgeting with her shirt or hair.

"I don't know, but it's really weird!" Fumika stretched a bit as she stood back up, looking as people passed her house, none of them looking any bit concerned, "The other people don't seem to have noticed, but is this a yo-kai thing, or a Looper thing?"

"I don't know, and I don't care, I just know I don't like it!" Kyubi howled as he hovered down to her level, giving a deep breath before seemingly calming down, though he still seemed a bit twitchy, "I think we should go find Keita…"

"Well, that's a given," the Looping girl shrugged, "Though… for some reason I don't think he's going to have any more information than we do on what has happened…"

"What, is that your soul-mate, true-love mental connection going on?" Kyubi questioned blankly, Fumika stared at him, getting a bit flustered.

"… Now is really not the time for comments like that!"

"If whatever this is destroys our Branch, you will regret not telling him when you had the chance!" Kyubi shouted urgently, the response he was given was a deadpan expression.

"… Destroys our Branch? Seriously? Don't you think you're jumping to extreme conclusions there?"

"You're right, but I'm still in mid-panic!"

"Calm down!"

"Alright! Alright…" the fox yo-kai took a few deeper breaths, calming down, for real this time, "… Still, you really should tell him…"

"Can we deal with the immediate issue at hand, please!?" the red-faced girl snapped.

"Fumi-chan! You better get back in here and get ready if you don't want to be late for cram school!" the Looping duo heard Fumika's mother call from in the house, both of them blinked and looked at each other.

"… Fumika, since when do you go to cram school?" the fox spirit questioned.

"I _don't_ , last I checked at least…" Fumika muttered with a look of pure confusion on her face.

* * *

"You know, I always thought my dad was the kind of businessman who would golf with his associates, but he never really talked about it before," Keita commented after leaving their house, having seen how his dad had not only changed in appearance, but demeanor to an extent, "I'm really not sure what to make of this…"

"Yes, this is very curious, whissu," Whisper muttered, Hanahojin was looking around at the changed world with a look of unease in his eyes.

"This is all very weird…" he stepped closer to Keita, the Anchor placed a hand on his head as a comforting gesture.

"I know, everything looks different, but it's also the same," Keita commented as they walked through town, noting that none of the people walking around seemed the least bit concerned, "Nobody seems to have noticed the change, just like my parents…"

"Yeah, they're just walking around like everything's normal," Hanahojin seemed even more unnerved by this fact, "Is it just us?"

"Somehow, I doubt that," Keita crossed his arms thoughtfully.

"Keita-nya!" the Anchor was suddenly pounced on by his best, nekomata friend, shortly followed by his future-self.

"Er… Jibanyan? Did you get heavier?" the the boy grunted from under the weight of the two cat spirits.

"A little, I think, but that's nyot what's distressing you, nya…" Jibanyan gave the upgraded Robonyan a look.

"My bad," Robonyan F-type bowed, hovering off the human boy, allowing him to get back up, taking hold of Jibanyan and placing him on the ground, he glanced at Robonyan F-type curiously.

"Robonyan… so, have you noticed…?"

"The change to the world? Yes? Or do you mean the Loops? In which case; also yes!"

"Um… thanks for that clarification, so this time is it because you remember being Jibanyan, or–"

"Mikasa glitch," Jibanyana and Robonyan F-type answered together, the Anchor nodded in understanding.

"I will stay in Robonyan F-type form to avoid any confusion," the mechanical nekomata assured, Jibanyan nodded in approval, "Also; the reason I won't know what's going to happen is because, this Loop, Robonyan chooses to lock his memories of events during his time as Jibanyan when he travels back in time, to avoid the chance of paradoxes!"

"… That would actually explain a lot in Baseline, whiss," Whisper muttered after a moment.

"Nyever mind that right nyow! Do either of you knyow what's going on! Nya!" Jibanyan exclaimed, shaking his paws around, gesturing to the world around them, "Nyone of the humans seem to nyotice a thing, but the yo-kai are in a panic! Nya!" this caught the Anchor's curiosity.

"Wait, so none-Looping yo-kai notice this?" Keita questioned, Jibanyan and Robonyan F-type nodded quickly, Keita gained a thoughtful look again, "So… this isn't just a thing Loopers are noticing? It must be, at least partially yo-kai related…" the boy looked himself over for a moment, "Not sure if I only notice because I'm Looping, or an UnAwake me would notice anyway because of how much I associate with yo-kai, and have become one before…"

"That doesn't really matter right now, dad, if yo-kai are panicking we need to do something about it!" Hanahojin exclaimed, Keita blinked, before looking down at his yo-kai son.

"That is true… that huge amount of spiritual energy is still around, fainter than before, but it hasn't left!" he glanced up, "But we should gather up the others before we figure out what to do, first off; to Fumi-chan's house!" the human boy exclaimed, stepping forward, but sharply turned back to his yo-kai friends and son before they could speak, "And, it's because her house is closest, not because I have a crush on her, which; yes I do, but that's irrelevant to the current issue! Understand!?" they all nodded, Keita smiled, "Good, let's go!"

* * *

"I'm telling you, I can't go today, I don't feel well," Fumika pleaded with her mother, doing her best fake cough, she disliked lying to her mother, but she needed to get out of this 'cram school' situation and go help with whatever was causing this.

"I don't know… you don't seem sick," the adult woman muttered skeptically, she placed her hand on her daughter's forehead, only to quickly pull it away, wincing, "Oh dear! You're burning up! Alright, no cram school for you, straight to bed! I'll call the school, so you don't get marked as absent."

"Thanks, mom, I just want to go to bed…" Fumika faked a tired voice, subtly sending a thankful look her yo-kai companion's way, Kyubi smiled back at her, opening and closing his hand as a flame flickered in his palm, the two headed up the stairs as they heard Fumika's mother dialing the phone, once they reached her room they moved over to the bed.

"Okay, what's the plan now?" Kyubi questioned, his ears twitching a little, the human girl smiled his way as she pulled out a yo-kai medal.

"We make this quick, and make sure we're not caught," she spoke quietly, inserting the medal into her pendant-version of the Yo-kai Watch U.

" **Ladies and gentlemen, Pretty family!"**

"Baku!" the purple, tapir-like yo-kai announced after the summoning song, she looked towards Fumika, "What's going on? Did you notice what's happened to the world!?" this surprised the two Loopers a bit.

"So, did all yo-kai notice…? Never mind, yes, yes, I'm hoping I can do something about it, but I need you to do something for me first," this statement caught the newly summoned yo-kai's interest, "My mom thinks I'm sick and I need to sneak out, so I can help try and figure this strange change out, so you need to take my place in bed, so she won't notice."

"Sure, if you're trying to solve this, I'm happy to help," Baku smiled, "Though if it's not too much to ask, could you let me dine on your dreams tonight in exchange, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, you do this for me you can have all my dreams you want," the Looping girl gave a thumbs-up, Baku nodded, before taking Fumika's form and flopping into the bed.

"What if she checks your temperature again and finds you're not burning up anymore?" Kyubi pointed out, Fumika paused in thought, before pulling out another medal.

"This should do the trick," she inserted the medal into the watch.

" **Ladies and gentlemen, Isamashi family!"**

"Merameraion! Mera!" the fire-lion yo-kai appeared in the room, looking ready to get someone fired up.

"Hold it, Merameraion!" Fumika waved her hands for him to stop, the fiery yo-kai looked at her curiously, "I know it might be a bit much to ask, but I need you not to get anyone fired up and just make it look like Baku, who's in my place here, has a fever if my mom comes in, can you please do that?" she pleaded, Merameraion stared at her for a moment, before smiling and giving a thumbs-up.

"Mera! Mera!"

"Oh, thanks!" the Looping girl smiled.

"So, does _he_ not notice the world change, or does he just not care?" Kyubi muttered quietly, Merameraion gave a salute before he moved to stand by the bed, Fumika nodded in approval before heading towards the window, willing herself to be unnoticeable to humans, like a yo-kai.

"Now, let's go find Keita-kun, and get to the bottom of this," she opened her window.

"I'm right behind you," Kyubi assured, Fumika smiled at him, before using her psychic powers to float out the window, the nine-tailed fox following with his natural abilities.

"I'm sorry, Keita-kun, but Fumika's sick, so you can't see her right now," the human/yo-kai duo heard Fumika's mother speaking from the front door, they looked down to see Keita's group in the front yard, with Keita himself on the porch.

"Oh, well…" Keita noticed Fumika and Kyubi exiting the window and smiled, before putting on a concerned look and turning back to Fumika's mother, "I'm sorry to hear that, I hope she gets better soon…"

"Thank you, Keita-kun, I'm sure she just needs some rest and she'll be better before you know it," the woman assured, before closing the door, Keita let out a relieved sigh, before motioning for Fumika and Kyubi to follow them out the front gate, they did so.

* * *

"Hmm… this is really strange, dani…" USApyon muttered as he looked around, Inaho was as well, but a lot more animatedly, with a look of amazement on her face.

"This is so weird! But also cool! It's like some sort of 'dimensional-shift!'" the girl took on a serious demeaner as she went into thought, "Perhaps this has something to do with that 'UFO' that's been mentioned being spotted in the area!"

"Dani?"

"Yes! That's it! Aliens, it's the only explanation!" Inaho shouted as she jumped into the air.

"Or… it could be yo-kai related, dani," USApyon pointed out blandly, Inaho glared at him, before deciding to ignore him, going back to cheering about aliens, USApyon groaned.

"Hmm…?" Inaho stopped halted in her excitement when she noticed a table full of various lab equipment and what looked to be chemicals in containers, "Since when did I have a chemistry set of this sort…?"

"That… doesn't look like a chemistry set, dani," USApyon pointed out, Inaho stared at it for a few more seconds, before adjusting her glasses, the serious look returning to her face.

"Truthfully these aliens alterations to the fabric of reality are numerous, one can only speculate what their goal is…"

"It's probably a yo-kai, dani," USApyon, once again, went ignored, "Ug, fine, think whatever you want, I'm going to find Keita-dani!" the otter yo-kai exclaimed, exiting the room, Inaho kept on raving about aliens, until she processed what USApyon had said.

"Wait… Keita…?" she looked around, seeing USApyon was no longer there, before rushing out the door and after him, "Hold it! You can't go see my BFF without me!"

* * *

"So, you're just as clueless as us," Kyubi sighed as the group walked along the sidewalk, or floated, in his, Robonyan F-type's and Whisper's cases.

"That's what I was afraid of," Fumika muttered worriedly, Keita placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I have a pretty good idea of where to look for the source of this, but I want to get everyone together soon; we don't know how big of a threat this is… but the good thing is it's not a null-Loop, and we're not Pocket-Locked, so we can probably handle whatever comes our way."

"Well… that's at least encouraging to hear," Fumika and Keita shared a fond smile, Kyubi smirked at this.

"Keita-kun! Zura!" a panicked voice called out, the group turned to see Komasan rushing towards them, followed shortly by Komajiro and Jinmenken.

"Do you guys know what's going on? Zura," Komajiro asked as he stepped over.

"The world has doggone crazy! I don't know what's what!" Jinmenken exclaimed shakily, the group flinched but held their tongues when they got a look at how the human-faced dog looked, but he noticed, "Go ahead! Say it, I'm hideous! I know!"

"N-no, it's… not so bad…" Fumika tried to assure, the others gave a few coughs and tried not to look, she looked to the Anchor for help.

"Er… yeah, it's not any worse than you normally are–I mean! Um…?" Keita helplessly looked to the remaining Loopers, but they didn't look to have any ideas of what to say, Jinmenken let out a groan.

"Look, it's fine, I have no problem being creepy at this point, but I'd rather it be back to my normal levels!"

"Um... right," Keita scratched his head with a nervous look, before shaking it off and nodding, "What we need to focus on is what is causing this weird thing! I know something connected to that surge of yo-kai energy is in this area, we just need to find it!" at Keita's exclamation, the other Loopers nodded, though Jibanyan and his mechanical counterpart took notice of someone passing by.

"Emi-chan? Nya," Jibanyan muttered in surprise, watching the familiar girl walk by.

"Emi, here?" Keita looked surprised, but grabbed Jibanyan before he could run off, "No! Wait!"

"Keita! Let me go, nya! Emi-chan! Nya!" Jibanyan cried out as he tried to chase after his former owner.

"We need to focus on finding out what's happening! We can't go gallivanting off in our own directions right now!" Kyubi snapped as he floated in front of the struggling nekomata, Jibanyan went limp in Keita's arms and groaned.

"I knyow… I'll go see Emi-chan later, I suppose, nya…" Jibanyan sighed, before he noticed Robonyan F-type was gone, "Huh? Robonyan? Nya…"

"Oh, come on!" Fumika cried out as she took notice of the mechanical nekomata flying off in the direction Emi had gone, Keita sighed as he set Jibanyan down.

"He'll probably catch up…" the Anchor muttered.

"At least I'll get the memories of seeing Emi-chan nyext Loop," Jibanyan said thoughtfully, Whisper flew over to him and pulled his ear, "Nya!"

"We still don't know anything about what's going on! For all we know, the stability of our entire Branch is at risk! So, I would appreciate it if you didn't contemplate abandoning us any more in the future! Whissu!"

"Nya! I won't!"

"Whisper… that's a bit much, don't you think?" Keita winced a little as the watched the ghost pull on the cat yo-kai's ear, Hanahojin nodded with concern in his eyes.

"Huh?" Whisper glanced between the others looking at him, and the struggling Jibanyan, before letting go of the pointed ear with a notable 'snap!' "Right, right, sorry… whiss," Jibanyan glared at him as he rubbed his ear.

"Ouch, zura…" Komasan empathized, rubbing his own ear.

"Look, if we want to figure out what's going on, we can't go turning against each other. That means; no abandoning each other, and no harming each other," Keita spoke firmly, looking towards Whisper and Jibanyan, both looked away briefly, but nodded. Keita let out a small sigh, before he twitched a bit and looked around.

"Keita-kun? Is something wrong?" Fumika questioned, Kyubi looked around suspiciously, Jinmenken let out a bark, before covering his mouth and muttering an apology.

"I'm sure an important yo-kai is around here, one connected to this change in scenery…" Keita turned on the light in his yo-kai watch, to make it easier to find the hidden yo-kai.

"While I'm sure you're correct about a yo-kai causing this, I can't say I've ever heard of a yo-kai that can do something like this, whiss," Whisper stated as he floated back over to the Anchor's side.

"I wouldn't think you would have, but still…" Keita shined the light around the neighborhood, before it focused on a shadow watching them from just around a corner, the yo-kai was revealed as a blue, koala-like being, with a bit of a resemblance to Jibanyan, "Found it!"

"Puku, puku?" the yo-kai tilted its head as it looked towards the group of Loopers, Fumika's eyes widened.

"Oh my… it's so CUTE!" she squealed suddenly, Kyubi backed away from her with a flinch, the female Looper looked at the new yo-kai with a big smile, "What's an adorable little guy like you doing out here?"

"Puku?"

"Nyot as adorable as me though, right? Nya," Jibanyan interjected smugly, Fumika looked at him briefly, before going back to fawning over at the new yo-kai, "NYA!?"

"Yes, yes, it's cute," Keita waved, looking towards his butler/friend, "Whisper, do you have anything on it?" the ghost immediately pulled out his yo-kai pad.

"Hmm, let's see, this yo-kai is, um… ummm…" he lowered the yo-kai pad, looking towards the Anchor with a baffled expression, "I… can't find anything on this yo-kai, there's… nothing! Whiss!"

"Puku?" the unidentified yo-kai looked curious as it waddled over to the duo, looking between Keita and Whisper, he seemed to want to stay clear of the sulking Jibanyan.

"Cuter than me? How!? Nya!" Jibanyan cried out, Fumika sighed and pat his head, he let out a purr, Kyubi sweatdropped while trying to look away.

"So, this yo-kai has no name? Zura," Komasan said, looking over the koala yo-kai.

"Seems like it… zura," Komajiro nodded, Keita hummed as he crossed his arms.

"Well… we need to call it something," he took another look at the yo-kai, that was now standing next to Jibanyan with an innocent expression.

"Puku?"

"How about… Koalanyan?"

"Nya?" Jibanyan's ears twitched at Keita's name idea.

"Seems a little basic, huh, Keita-kun? Whiss," Whisper pointed out, the brown-haired boy shrugged.

"It gets the job done, doesn't it?"

"I think it's an excellent name," Fumika smiled, patting Koalanyan on the head.

"Whatever it's called hardly matters, the point is if it's important," Kyubi stated in an uncaring tone, Fumika gave him a glare, the fox yo-kai shrugged.

"Hmm… you have something to do with this, don't you?" Keita muttered as he stared at Koalanyan.

"Puku?"

"You sure about that, Keita-nya? It doesn't seem like a big threat, nya?" Jibanyan seemed to have completely gotten over his worry of anything being cuter than him, Keita stared intently at the new yo-kai.

"I'm sure there is something significant about you…" he stated calmly, Koalanyan smiled, pointing to his nose.

"Puku!"

"… Nose?" Keita blinked, reaching forward and pressing Koalanyan's nose, like a button. Koalanyan suddenly moved back and started doing a strange dance.

"What in the…?" Kyubi hovered closer, now looking confused.

"What exactly is happening? What dance is that?" Jinmenken questioned, suddenly a loud noise seemed to come from nowhere and the world began to shift.

"What!? We're back to normal!" Fumika exclaimed in surprise, Kyubi looked around with a shocked expression, before smirking.

"Oh yes! Back to normal! It feels so good!"

"Is it over?" Hanahojin looked around with a confused expression, Keita nodded as he also looked around.

"Oh, it is good to be back! Whiss!" Whisper did a stretch.

"But… why? Nya," Jibanyan questioned, he glanced at Koalanyan, Keita also turned his focus to the little, blue yo-kai.

"Could it be… you did this?" Keita asked, Koalanyan blinked.

"Puku? Puku?" Koalanyan looked around, before he suddenly started jumping around and pointing frantically, "Puku! Puku! Puku!" the Loopers exchanged confused looks, but before they could question the little guy on what the issue was, someone else stepped in.

"There you are!" Inaho exclaimed, jumping over to the group, she looked around at the area and crossed her arms with a pout, "Eh? The supernatural phenomenon is already over? I didn't even get to do anything cool!"

"That's not the point here, dani!" USApyon snapped as he followed after the girl, letting out a huff before focusing on the other Loopers, "Everything changed back to the way it was, but why did it change in the first place!? Dani!"

"Um… Keita-kun just pressed that cute little thing's nose," Fumika stated, pointing towards the frantically moving Koalanyan, Inaho blinked, looking down at the new yo-kai.

"Puku! Puku!

"Hmm, this thing?" she kneeled to his eye-level and stared, Koalanyan stopped jumping and looked at her blankly.

"Puku…?" Inaho narrowed her eyes with a serious expression, before pressing the nose.

"Puku!" Koalanyan did its dance, changing the world back to the realistic style.

"There it is again, the world changed back!" Keita exclaimed, "It's definitely because of this yo-kai!" Inaho kept staring at Koalanyan, before pressing the nose again.

"Inaho, I don't think that's wise! Dani!" USApyon waved his arms as the world returned to normal, Inaho pressed the nose again.

"Okay, I am already freaked out enough by this without you acting like a kid flicking the lights on and off!" Kyubi growled as he prepared a fireball, Fumika grabbed onto him and tried to calm him down, Inaho pressed the nose again.

"Hmm… interesting," the purple-haired girl muttered thoughtfully as the world returned to normal, "I have developed a new hypothesis!"

"Have you now…?" Keita questioned with a dull expression, Inaho nodded, gaining a proud smirk.

"This is… a vessel for the aliens' dimensional-distortion device!" all the other Loopers fell over.

"It's clearly a yo-kai, moron!" Keita shouted angrily, USApyon sighed.

"Don't bother, she's in her own world… dani…"

"Sometimes I wish I could see the world like she does, if only for a day," Jinmenken commented wistfully, Komajiro gave him an odd look.

"Puku, puku…" Koalanyan let out a tired noise as he drooped a little, Inaho glared at him.

"Don't go trying to incite sympathy from me, alien device! I've got your game!" at this shout, Koalanyan whimpered, running and hiding behind Keita.

"Hey, don't be mean to Koalanyan!" Fumika hissed, Inaho glared at her intensely.

"Hmm… clearly Fumika has already fallen to the aliens' influence…" Fumika glared back at her, Keita let out a groan.

"Inaho… please stop…"

"… Fine, for now!" Inaho sent Koalanyan and Fumika one last glare, before backing off, USApyon sighed.

"Well, mystery solved? It's this little guy causing the issue, whiss," Whisper shrugged, Fumika shook her head.

"Mystery _not_ solved! Koalanyan may be able to switch between the worlds, but that doesn't explain the loud noise that occurred the first time, or what caused such a thing to even start occurring," the female Looper concluded, Whisper drooped a bit.

"Of course it's not that simple… whiss…"

"To get real answers we must find the mothership!" Inaho exclaimed.

"It's not aliens! Get it through your head! Dani!" USApyon growled.

"Are we sure it's not aliens? I've never seen any yo-kai cause such weird problems as this, zura…" Komasan looked around nervously, Komajiro patted his shoulder in a comforting manner, Hanahojin seemed bothered as well.

"Dad? _Could_ it be aliens?"

"Anything's possible, son, but knowing our Branch, I'm sure it's yo-kai related, a _lot_ of power, but still yo-kai related," Keita assured in a calm tone, "Though… Inaho's not entirely wrong," this caught some of the others off guard, especially Inaho and USApyon.

"I'm not?"

"She's not!? Dani!"

"Probably not about the 'alien' stuff, but the going for the 'mothership' is the right idea! Koalanyan likely isn't the source of this, he's definitely not the power we sensed earlier, he's probably just a consequence, but the true source… the mothership, is yet to reveal itself," Keita explained seriously, the others considered his words, Inaho was looking super excited.

"You're correct, Keita! The yo-kai responsible for this phenomenon has yet to reveal itself!" the sudden voice caused the group of Loopers to look up, where a caped, blue cat yo-kai floated.

"Fuyunyan!" Keita called out in surprise.

"That's right, guts!" Guts K jumped down from a roof and landed in front of the group, Fuyunyan floating down to his side, "We noticed all this going down in our home town and decided to head over here as fast as we could!" Keita's deceased grandfather explained, before moving closer to Keita and whispering in his ear, "Without using any Looper powers or pocket stuff, just for fun," at this, Keita gave his grandfather a bland look.

"So that's why you took so long…?"

"The yo-kai responsible for the shift in the world is a large, mysterious beast, that is one thing I can say for certain!" Fuyunyan exclaimed, before pointing to Keita, "Keizo and I have determined that the fate of the world depends on you, Keita!" he pointed at Fumika, "You, Fumi!" he paused as he pointed at Inaho, "And… maybe you!"

"Maybe!? Well that's just rude," Inaho huffed, before giving the floating cat a curious look, "Say, are you _sure_ this has nothing to do with aliens?" Fuyunyan ignored this question.

"Still, we don't have very much information, but there is one that is sure to know about what is occurring!" Fuyunyan pointed to the sky, taking a heroic pose, "Lord Enma!"

"Oh, that guy's cool!" Inaho smirked.

"Is this really a time to make a detour to the yo-kai world? I think we can probably solve this problem without bothering the king of yo-kai," Keita insisted.

"Do not worry, you continue your investigations in this world, Fuyunyan and I will go see Lord Enma and see if he can help us! Guts!" Keizo exclaimed excitedly.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kyubi questioned plainly, Keizo and Fuyunyan nodded, before the shaodowy humanoid jumped on the flying cat's back, and they zoomed off.

"GUTS!"

"… Your grandpa's weird, Keita-kun," Fumika muttered awkwardly, Keita just nodded with a sigh.

"Puku?" Koalanyan blinked, before he noticed a large shadow looming over the group, his eyes widened, and he started panicking, "Puku! Puku! Puku! Puku!"

"Huh, Koalanyan, what is… WHALE!?" Keita exclaimed, pointing to the sky, the others looked up and saw what he was referring; a huge, blue whale, floating in the sky!

"No aliens, but sky-whale? I think I can work with that…" Inaho muttered with a nod, USApyon gave her an incredulous look.

"SERIOUSLY!? DANI!"

"I… what is that thing?" Fumika questioned as she backed up.

"A yo-kai, I'm sure of it," Kyubi growled as he narrowed his eyes, his tails flaring slightly.

"Nya!" Jibanyan glared at the whale.

"A whale… in the sky? Well that's another yo-kai I don't think I've heard of, whiss," Whisper admitted, Keita gave a slow nod.

"Just what is it doing? Jinmenken asked worriedly, "Why is it in the sky!?"

"Did it get lost? This is far from the ocean, zura," Komasan pointed out.

"Big bro, I don't think it's that kind of whale, zura…" Komajiro sweatdropped, Keita glared at the whale, a look of realization crossing his face.

"… That's the 'mothership!' That whale yo-kai is responsible for the shifting in our world's reality!" the Anchor exclaimed while pointing up.

"How can you be so sure…? Whiss," Whisper questioned, before a response could be given, the whale opened up its mouth, and bellowed loudly.

" **HOGEE!"**

"It's that noise again!" Keita exclaimed as the group all covered their ears at the painful soundwave, the world shifted around them, back into the realistic style.

"Back to this hideous visage again! Why!?" Jinmenken cried out.

"You know… I was only saying it to make you feel better before, but after seeing it a few times, you're not really any creepier than normal," Fumika muttered with a sweatdrop, Jinmenken looked at her, his expression going blank.

"Somehow, that comment doesn't make me feel any better…"

"Reality has been changed again, what is the overall goal for this!? Why!?" Inaho shouted, she than took notice of something in front of her eyes, grabbed some of her hair and stared at it, "Wait… did my hair change color!?"

"Huh, didn't really notice before, but it looks like it did! Dani!" USApyon exclaimed, as Inaho's hair was now black, instead of purple. The sci-fi-obsessed girl took a moment to process the change, before she gained an enraged look.

"Oh! That's it! Messing with our reality was one thing! But taking away my glorious purple-locks!? That is going too far! The kid gloves are coming off now! You hear me you ravenous sky-whale alien-yo-kai-whatever you are!"

"I thought messing with reality would be where it went too far…" Keita pointed out, but he noticed something else, "Wait… the whale's gone!"

"Huh… AH! It is gone! Whiss!" Whisper exclaimed in realization, the rest of the group looked up in surprise.

"How exactly did something that big just disappear…?" Fumika questioned, Kyubi narrowed his eyes skeptically. Jibanyan looked around for any sign of the whale, when he noticed someone approaching.

"Robonyan?" he questioned his other self, Robonyan F-type hovered over to the group, before landing on the ground and slumping, "Nya? What happened?"

"… It's better if I don't tell you, you'll find out next Loop, just know that; this problem with the world _needs_ to be fixed as soon as possible!" the futuristic feline stated seriously.

"… Nya?" Jibanyan looked confused but nodded.

* * *

"Over this way! Nya!" Jibanyan led the group forward, having remembered some place he had seen the whale before, "There! I remember seeing it across the street when buying chocobars!" the small nekomata pointed to a sign atop an art supplies store, depicting a very similar whale to the one that had appeared over the city.

"A sign? But… how?" Fumika questioned in confusion.

"Hmm… perhaps aliens are involved after all?" Inaho smirked, USApyon groaned and shook his head.

"Likely just more yo-kai weirdness, I don't think there's any limit to how weird it can get," Keita stated firmly.

"I was a booger!" Hanahojin exclaimed, trying to be helpful.

"I did _not_ need to be reminded of that, dani," USApyon grunted.

"Related or not, how does this help exactly…? Perhaps if I destroyed the sign?" Kyubi prepared a fireball.

"WHISSU!" Whisper moved in front of the fox yo-kai in a panic, "Property damage is not the answer!"

"Yeah, plus I really doubt it would do anything," Fumika added, Kyubi huffed, but allowed his flames to die down.

"But what do we do? We've figured out that the whale is only in our regular world, and there's a sign here that looks like it, but what does that even mean?" Jinmenken questioned seriously, none of the group looked to be able to give an answer, he slumped to the ground, "Doggone it! How hard is it to get some freaking answers around here!?"

"Don't get all dramatic nyow…" Jibanyan deadpanned as he looked at the human-faced dog, before his eyes widened, "Nyo!? The candy store! Nya!" he suddenly exclaimed, the others turned to see him on his knees as he stared at a large building, "The candy store was right here in our regular world! Nya! How can this be!? NYO! I can't get more chocobars like this!"

"We can make more chocobars," Robonyan F-type stated, a few chocobars falling out of his mouth, "But I understand that's not the point."

"… Hospital?" Keita read the sign in front of the building curiously, "Where there's a candy store in our world, there's a hospital here?"

"That's very odd, I was thinking that the world was just being altered in a slight way, but is this actually an entirely different world than our own? Zura," Komajiro questioned with concern in his voice. Keita didn't answer, he approached the hospital with a serious expression.

"Keita-kun?" Fumika looked worried as the Anchor was stepping forward.

"This hospital is important, I can feel it… something here… is connecting everything together, you guys coming or not?" it only took a moment of glancing at each other, before the other humans and yo-kai nodded and chose to follow their Anchor.

* * *

The group of Loopers made it to the roof of the hospital, Keita motioned for the others to stop when he spotted someone; staring out at the city.

"… It's her…" the Anchor muttered with narrowed eyes; the person was a young girl, seemingly a few years older than the three human Loopers, dark hair and dressed in white, her back turned to them.

"Puku! Puku!" Koalanyan jumped up and down frantically.

"A girl… it's a human girl?" Jinmenken questioned in disbelief, Keita nodded.

"She doesn't look dangerous," Fumika stated with narrowed eyes.

"Well, neither do you," her nine-tailed companion pointed out, she glared at him briefly, but smirked a little.

"She's definitely the vessel, the alien invasion begins with the innocent and the pure, before spreading through the– "Inaho's incoming rant was halted by a smack to the head from USApyon.

"NO! DANI!" Keita looked at the others, before focusing on the girl again and stepping forward.

"… Hello," at the sound of the young boy's voice, the girl turned around, staring at the group with an unreadable expression, "You're doing this, aren't you?"

"Doing this…?" the girl paused in thought, "You… are not from my world, are you?" she glanced to the others behind him, "None of you are…?"

"No, we're not," Keita nodded, his expression calm, "That whale… it's yours, somehow? Isn't it?"

"What does that matter? What is wrong with it?" she questioned, her expression still unreadable, Keita narrowed his eyes a bit more.

"It matters to me, I don't know what exactly is going on between the worlds, or whatever, but the stability of the world is _my_ responsibility," she kept staring at him, silently, "… I'm sure you have your reasons for this, but I'm going to have to ask you to stop, this cannot be allowed to contin– "

"Why should it stop?" the girl interrupted, her eyes seemed to narrow ever so slightly, "I love your world the most… so why must I stop?"

"What…?" Fumika muttered from behind Keita.

" **HOGEE!"**

"That sound again! Whissu!" Whisper exclaimed in surprise, the Loopers looked around as the rainbow-colored soundwave rippled through the air.

"Puku! Puku! Puku!" Koalanyan pointed to the sky in an animated manner.

"Ah! That horrible beast is back!" Inaho exclaimed, pointing to the air where the whale appeared, as the world changed around them, back to the one they knew. The girl let out a small giggle, smiling as she changed to match their world, floating up into the air.

"She's flying!? Whissu!" Whisper shouted in surprise.

"This world is great… here I'm so free," the girl kept smiling as she flew higher and higher into the air.

"Gah! The hospital is disappearing!" Jinmenken cried out.

"This hospital doesn't exist in our world, it's a candy store…" Fumika noted, using her psychic powers to float, catching Komasan and Komajiro before they fell. Koalanyan grabbed onto Whisper, Kyubi caught Jinmenken, Keita floated and held onto Hanahojin, Jibanyan grabbed onto Robonyan F-type, USApyon used the Force to keep both him and Inaho afloat.

"What the heck! Are you trying to kill us!?" Keita snapped at the girl, she didn't acknowledge him, just giggling a bit more as she floated in front of the sky-whale, her clothing transforming into a ballet attire, she kept giggling as she danced through the air, the whale following her.

"… I think she might be insane," Inaho muttered as USApyon set both himself and her onto the ground.

"Let's not jump to that sort of conclusion, but regardless, we need to go after her!" Keita exclaimed seriously, flying after her, the others following.

"Here you go guys," Fumika put the koma brothers down, the two thanked her politely.

"Don't worry about us, we've got an idea! Zura!" Komasan assured, Komajiro nodded. Fumika smiled, before flying after Keita.

"I know this will end badly…" Jinmenken groaned.

"Could you not complain, for like, a minute?" Kyubi grunted as he set the human-faced dog on the ground, before flying after the Anchor, Jinmenken seemed to consider this for a second, before he noticed everyone had gone ahead of him.

"Huh… hold on! I'm coming!" he scampered after the other Loopers, on all fours.

* * *

"I can do anything in this world, anything I wish to," the dark-haired girl chanted as she skipped and twirled through the air.

"No, you can't!" the harsh voice caused her to pause for a moment, looking back with an uncaring expression as the Anchor floated after her, Hanahojin gripping onto his back, "This world has rules like any other, it's not a playground for you to mess with as you please! And the amount of power you're using to disrupt our reality can't be good for anyone!" she frowned a bit as she stared at him.

"Why… are you trying to stop my dancing? Why are you trying to stop my fun?" Keita growled a bit as he glared at her.

"What? Are you even listening to me!? Did you even hear a word I said!?"

"Keita-kun!" Fumika caught up to her friend/crush, shortly followed by Kyubi, Whisper (carrying Koalanyan), and the Jibanyans, "Somethings wrong with her! She's not in a stable emotional state!"

"Puku! Puku! Puku!" Koalanyan pointed towards the dancing girl while struggling to stay on Whisper, said ghost trying his best to keep balance. Keita noted Fumika's words, nodding a bit.

"Yes… I can see that, still… she can't do this… I can't say exactly what, but I _know_ something bad will happen if this continues," the male watch-holder stated, a bit more calmly, focusing on the girl once more, but she was already dancing away, "Hey! Get back here!"

"Also wait for us!" Inaho exclaimed from the ground, she USApyon running, along with Jinmenken, "How come I don't have a way to fly yet!?"

"I've got plenty, but I don't feel like it, dani," USApyon commented, Jinmenken let out an unenthusiastic bark.

"Lazy Sith Otter…" Inaho grumbled under her breath, USApyon didn't react.

* * *

"Hey, hold up!" they had gotten to the park when Keita had decided to set his son onto the ground and speed up, getting ahead of the girl and blocking her path.

"Why do you keep following me?" the girl questioned; as if Keita were merely an annoyance, the Anchor glowered, but kept his emotions in check.

"I told you; I don't know why you're doing this, I'm sure you have a reason, but I _can't_ allow it to continue! Stop this, before I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands!" Keita spoke seriously, the rest of the group watched as they settled on the ground of the park, watching the airborne confrontation. The ballerina girl barely acknowledged him, just smiling as she started to dance in the air.

"Huh… she's pretty good, whiss," Whisper couldn't help but comment, Koalanyan jumping from his head, onto the stable ground.

"Nya," Jibanyan nodded, as did Jinmenken, Koalanyan looked concerned as he stared at the girl.

"Puku…"

"Now's not the time to gawk at dance moves, we need to figure out what to do about this!" Kyubi hissed, Fumika nodded.

"She's obviously being manipulated by the alien sky-whale's reality-alteration machine," Inaho commented in a dramatic manner.

"I thought you _finally_ dropped the alien-thing, dani," USApyon facepalmed.

"NEVER!" the bespectacled girl exclaimed loudly, her yo-kai partner shook his head with a quiet sigh.

"I'm sure dad knows what he's doing, he can handle this," Hanahojin assured, Fumika nodded, though she still looked concerned as she watched the Anchor confronting the dancing girl.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you disregarding me…" Keita seethed a bit, he backed up, glancing down at the group, his eyes focusing on Koalanyan, "Hmm…"

"Puku?" the koala-like yo-kai tilted his head confusedly, noting the Anchor's eyes on him.

"Somebody, press Koalanyan's nose!" Keita called out.

"Huh… why? Whiss," Whisper questioned, Fumika seemed to think for a moment, before moving over to the small blue yo-kai.

"I think I have an idea of what he's going for," she stated.

"Puku?" Koalanyan blinked, just before Fumika pressed his nose, and he did his little dance.

" **HOGEE!"**

The world changed back to the realistic one, the girl stopped dancing, her eyes widened, before she started to fall.

"Thought so," Keita nodded, quickly flying after the girl, catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Huh…?" the dancer blinked in surprise as she was lowered to the ground, falling to her knees as the young boy hovered over her.

"Keita-kun, how did you know that would happen? Whissu," Whisper questioned, floating over to his human companion.

"It was the things she said, she was talking about how ' _your world_ ' was so much fun, and how she was free, so it stands to reason she can't fly in this one…" Keita nodded with a small smile.

"Oh! A brilliant deduction indeed, Watson!" Inaho giggled, Keita narrowed his eyes at her.

"I told you never to call me 'Watson' again…" Keita growled, before turning his focus to the girl that had previously been flying, now on the ground in a distraught state.

"Why are you messing with me…?" the girl started to cry a bit as she sat on the ground, Keita let out a huff.

"Again, it's like you can't even hear what I say to you…" he muttered with a bit of frustration, landing on the ground and walking over to her, "I cannot allow you to mess with our world, I don't know if you're being manipulated or… something, I can try to help you, but I needed to put a stop to that! I still don't know what would happen, but I knew that if it continued it would be something bad!" Keita explained firmly, "It's not we who is messing with you, you're the one who's messing with us!" again, she didn't seem to hear his words, as she started speaking to herself.

"All I wanted to do was dance…" she whimpered, Keita blinked, glancing back to the others briefly.

"Puku…" Koalanyan looked a bit sad as he watched her.

"Look… you can't just do whatever you want, our world isn't a toy…" Fumika stepped forward, looking a bit sympathetic, but the girl did not seem to hear her any more than she did Keita.

"If I don't dance… nobody… will ever look at me," the girl muttered as she stood back up, Keita and Fumika shared a confused look, Inaho stepped forward with a smug look.

"I think I can solve this little– "

"I will never stop dancing!" the girl suddenly shouted, Inaho blinked, before glaring at her.

"Well will you ever stop _whining?_ " that, she seemed to hear… the girl began screaming, rising into the air again.

"That was not the correct thing to say, dani," USApyon pointed out bluntly.

"Wait, she can fly in this world now too!? Whiss!" Whisper exclaimed in surprise, the girl's eyes seemed to glow faintly as the wind picked up.

"What is this…?" Keita muttered cautiously, subtly taking a protective stance in front of Fumika.

"Nya! Look!" Jibanyan exclaimed, pointing up at the sky, where a portal opened.

"The whale-thing!" Hanahojin shouted.

"She's becoming more powerful…" Keita commented, watching as the girl rose into the sky, a purple aura surrounded her, the whale coming through the portal, "She can now summon the whale to this world too!"

"Huh!? But… how do we stop it!? What's going to happen!?" Jinmenken looked to be panicking a bit.

"As I said… I don't know," Keita gritted his teeth, the girl looked down at them emotionlessly, before flying off, the whale following.

"We need to go after her!" Kyubi roared.

"Yeah, we've gotta stop the bad guys before they wreck all of space and time, and we have to start all over!" Inaho shouted.

"We always have to start over anyway, but we do need to stop them! Dani!" USApyon pulled out a lightsaber.

"Puku! Puku!"

"Huh?" Fumika looked over at Koalanyan, the small yo-kai was pointing in another direction.

"What is it?" Robonyan F-type questioned, flying over to Fumika, before taking notice of Koalanyans behavior, "Hmm…?"

"He wants us to go that way?" Keita asked as he stepped over, Koalanyan kept pointing with a look of urgency.

"Puku! Puku! Puku! Puku!"

"But we need to go after the bad guy!" Inaho protested, but froze for a second, as if she was struck by an idea, "Wait… this could be the secret to winning! This little fella will lead us to the origins of the villain, and the solutions!"

"What…? Dani," USApyon blinked.

"I… don't know about that, but I think we should follow him," Fumika insisted.

"Keita-nya?" Jibanyan looked to the Anchor for his opinion, as did Whisper and Hanahojin, he thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Okay, let's see what Koalanyan wants us to see!"

"Puku! Puku!"

* * *

" **HOGEE!"**

The world returned to its original state, the group of Loopers rushed forward as they moved to confront the flying girl, who they now knew was named Kanami Minami, thanks to the info they had gotten from her old ballet instructor.

"There she is, we need to get her to stop and listen to reason!" Keita exclaimed, pointing at her, Kanami's eyes seemed to gain a red tint as she glared down at them, sending waves of energy at them, the group of Loopers managed to dodge them.

"I'll get her to stop, just give me five minutes…" Kyubi growled as he rose up into the air.

"Hold on! We can't hurt her, remember?" Fumika grabbed onto his arm before he could fly over to Kanami, "We need to get her to listen to us!"

"I don't think she's in the mood to listen!" Jinmenken pointed out, the group gasped when a pair of large, black wings sprouted from the floating girl's back, only to almost immediately dissipate, but leaving Kanami with new, black attire, a dark aura surrounding her, and an evil look in her eyes.

"Her mind has completely gone to the parasite," Inaho commented with an observant expression.

"Now there's a parasite? Can't you at least pick _one_ theme of delusion and stick with it? Dani," USApyon growled, she simply stuck her tongue out at him, "She's messing with me… I know it, dani…"

" **HOGEE!"**

The world shifted again, Keita stepped forward, staring in Kanami's direction.

"Kanami… how is she doing all this…?"

"It's her grief," the Loopers looked surprised when Fuyunyan came flying in, along with Guts K, "The darkness from the grief in her heart is binding our two worlds together!"

"Fuyunyan, Keizo! Whiss!" Whisper exclaimed at the return of the two.

"If this continues, she'll stop being human," Fuyunyan spoke seriously.

"Huh, stop being human!?" Fumika exclaimed worriedly.

"How do we stop it?" Keita questioned, his grandfather walked over to him and looked him in the eyes.

"We need to expel the darkness inspiriting her from her heart!"

"But, how do we do that, nya!?" Jibanyan questioned, Koalanyan was running around fearfully, Fumika picked him up to calm him down.

"Puku! Puku…"

"With this! Guts!" Keizo exclaimed, showing Keita a fire-themed sword of some kind, "The Enma Blade!"

"Enma Blade?" Keita took the sword, looking it over carefully, he noted it appeared to be a Dream Link tool.

"Use the blade to cut her off from the power of darkness! Quickly!" Fuyunyan exclaimed.

"Why does _he_ get the sword?" Inaho questioned.

"You got the rocket launcher last time, dani," USApyon pointed out.

"Here goes," Keita pulled the Yo-kai Watch Dream from his sub-space pocket, removing the face and inserting into the hilt of the sword, "Yo-kai Watch Dream Link! Lord Enma medal!" with the sword ready, Keita looked back at Kanami; she was charging up another dark attack, "Here goes nothing…" Keita slashed the sword, sending a fiery energy slash through the air, at the same time Kanami sent her own.

"Beam struggle time!" Inaho cheered as she watched the attack collide, but the one from the Enma Blade prevailed and came sailing towards Kanami, "Yeah! That's my BFF for you!"

"Don't call me your 'BFF' either!" Keita snapped, before looking towards Guts K and Fuyunyan, "This won't hurt her, will it?"

"No, the power of this blade should only cut her off from the dark power that has inspirited her," Fuyunyan assured, the energy slash hit Kanami, she let out a pain gasp as purple smoke burst out from her body.

"Did that do it?" Fumika asked, holding Koalanyan tightly.

"I don't think it's that simple," Robonyan F-type stated firmly, Keita nodded, staring at the smoke as it formed together, his eyes narrowed as they took the shape of a whale.

"The sky-whale again!? Where did it go before anyway…?" Inaho questioned.

"This looks much worse than last time…" Jinmenken whimpered, the whale now being a very dark, almost black, purple instead of blue, red eyes that seemed to be emitting fire, a set of massive sharp teeth and a repulsive blue tongue filled its mouth, the dark whale yo-kai prepared a massive roar.

" **HOGEE!"**

"What is that thing!? What happened!? Dani!" USApyon looked toward Fuyunyan and Keizo for answers, as did the others while the world returned to normal.

"I thought that sword was supposed to fix this…" Kyubi muttered with an annoyed sigh.

"What is that thing…?" Keita questioned, Whisper searched through his yo-kai pad.

"That is… AHA! That's the yo-kai; Daiyōki Hogehoēru! Whissu!"

"There's actually info on this one!?" Jinmenken exclaimed in surprise.

"A heart of darkness born from inside humans, inspirited by the will of Kaima!" Fuyunyan exclaimed.

"Wait, now Kaima are involved?" Fumika questioned, Koalanyan let out a whimper in her arms.

"Puku…" he looked up at Kanami, still floating in the air, but now she had returned to her normal form, and seemed to have lost consciousness, Daiyōki Hogehoēru let out a different kind of roar, sending out a shockwave that nearly knocked all the heroes back, without changing the world.

"This isn't good…" Robonyan F-type stated, scanning the enemy with his robotic eyes, "If this keeps going as it is… it could destroy both worlds!"

"Destroy both worlds! As in like… our Branch could really be destroyed!?" Kyubi shouted with a shocked look, Robonyan F-type shook his head.

"I can't say for sure how high the level of damage could go, I'd imagine the Admins would intervene if it was truly something that could destroy our Branch, but regardless, we have a duty to halt this before it gets any worse!"

"Keizo explained this Looping stuff to me, and you're correct!" Fuyunyan stated, "We have no choice, for the sake of everything in our world, we must defeat Hogehoēru!" Kanami opened her eyes as the purple aura from before formed around her.

"I will never stop dancing, never…" she spoke softly, she seemed to be in a delusional state.

"We need to save her, as well as everything, this needs to stop…" Fumika glared at the whale yo-kai.

"Puku, puku," Koalanyan whimpered.

"Let's do this than," Keita growled, pocketing the Enma Blade and bringing out Spectral Fang.

"Yami Kyubi!" Kyubi announced as he changed to his more powerful form, the group all looked to be getting ready for battle, Daiyōki Hogehoēru glared down at them along with Kanami… when suddenly, a small airship shaped like a komainu statue crashed into the whale yo-kai.

" **HOGEE!"**

The world shifted back to the realistic one at the giant yo-kai's unintentional cry, the ship flew around erratically for a moment as the group watched in surprise, before it landed and Komasan and Komajiro stepped out.

"Sorry we're late! Zura!" Komasan cried out as he ran over.

"Wait… you guys went to get your airship? What took so long!?" Inaho exclaimed loudly.

"We had some trouble finding where it was in big bro's pocket…" Komajiro sweatdropped.

"Zura…" Komasan gave a sheepish smile.

"… Let's never mind that for now, we need to fight that thing, now!" Keita exclaimed, pointing towards Daiyōki Hogehoēru, the two komainu nodded inunderstanding.

* * *

"There's no doubt about it, the abilities of yo-kai are weaker in this reality," Keizo concluded after a few failed attacks on Daiyōki Hogehoēru; Jibanyan's Paws of Fury couldn't lay a scratch on it, Yami Kyubi couldn't even do any noticeable demage…

"Well… if yo-kai abilities are weakened in this world, we'll just have to use _other_ abilities!" Keita smirked, sharing a look with the other Loopers as he formed a ball of ki in his hand.

"Got it!" Fumika jumped floated forward, charging up an attack, "PK Freeze!" Daiyōki Hogehoēru let out a pained moan as the attack nearly incased its body in ice.

" **HOGEE!"**

The world returned to normal at the roar, but this only gave the yo-kai more opportunities to attack with their abilities.

"Owari no Hajimari!" Yami Kyubi took the chance to unleash his soultimate, Hanahojin joined in with his own attack.

" **HOGEE!"**

The world changed again, but with the strategy the team had decided on it did nothing to slow them down.

"Personya!" Jibanyan smashed a card, summoning his persona, which went in to attack with fiery claws, this demaged the beast again.

"Take this! Guts!" Keizo exclaimed, adding in a barrage of ki-blasts.

" **HOGEE!"**

"Spirit Dance!"

"Wandering Thunder!"

"Dokonjō Sutorēto Nikukyū!"

Komasan, Komajiro and Fuyunyan unleashed their soultimates on the whale yo-kai.

" **HOGEE!"**

"Kame-hame-ha!" Jinmenken unleashed the legendary technique onto the monstrous apparition, USApyon and Inaho joined in with some lightsaber and rocket-launcher attacks.

" **HOGEE!"**

"This is the end for you," Keita spoke up, hovering over Daiyōki Hogehoēru with Spectral Fang in hand, he inserted a Fuu2 medal into the weapon, turning it yellow, "For the sake of our world, and that girl's life!" he slashed his weapon, sending a powerful wave of wind towards the weakened beast, it struck causing it to roar out in pain.

* * *

"Did we do it… is it over? Nya," Jibanyan questioned after Daiyōki Hogehoēru had seemingly exploded into a huge dark cloud. Keita landed on the ground, his weapon still in hand, glaring at the sky.

"No… it's not over."

"No, of course it's not, we must face the boss' true final form," Inaho nodded.

"I'd argue this isn't a video game… but, dani?" USApyon shrugged.

"The video game back-up in the hub isn't our Baseline, whiss," Whisper pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't really care, sometimes it still feels like we're in a video game, dani," USApyon stated plainly. A distorted roar erupted from the sky, switching the world's style once more.

"It's as you said, Keita-kun, it's not over," Fumika muttered, Keita nodded; watching as some sort of pulsating mass fell from the sky, onto the street with an audible 'splat!'

"Ew, what is that thing…?" Jinmenken looked repulsed, Fumika expressed a similar distaste to the vision, the thing pulsating some more, before a humanoid shape started to rise out of it.

"Daiyōki Hogehoēru?" Keita questioned, recognizing the head of the yo-kai, but not much else…

"It's taken a new form! Guts!" Keizo exclaimed, Whisper began searching through the yo-kai pad again.

"There's nothing on this form! I'm drawing a blank! Whissu!"

"Well… either way, whatever form it takes, we need to defeat Daiyōki Hogehoēru…" the Anchor paused, "Actually… that name is getting kind of tedious to keep saying, since he changed, let's just call him… Kujiraman."

"Isn't that a little arbitrary? Whissu." Whisper pointed out, Keita shrugged.

"How about instead we call him; _Gojiraman_!?" Inaho suggested excitedly.

"That doesn't fit at all!" Keita countered with a glare, Kanami landed on a telephone pole, looking down at them.

"Kujiraman, attack," she ordered.

"Huh, she agrees? Kujiraman it is I suppose," Inaho drooped, the newly dubbed 'Kujiraman' beat its chest madly.

"Huh… maybe 'Gojiraman' _would_ have fit…" Keita blinked.

Kujiraman opened its mouth wide, before sending a wave of… bubbles from its mouth.

"Move, we don't know what those do!" Keita exclaimed, the other Loopers, and Fuyunyan, dodged the bubbles, though a few people walking by got caught by them… turning them into fish.

"What the, fish!?" Fumika gasped in shock.

"Puku!" Koalanyan cried out as she squeezed him.

"Oh, sorry!" the eleven-year-old girl quickly apologized, loosening her grip.

"Don't let the bubble hit you! Nya!" Jibanyan shouted, his persona luned forward and slashed at Kujiraman.

"Hey, what's going on!" a female voice called out, before a yo-kai that looked like a mermaid floated over to the group, looking around with an annoyed look.

"Ningyo!" Keita exclaimed.

"Yeah, so what's the deal? I see some crazy stuff has been happening and I've been trying to figure out why all day! Seems this is why…" she stared at Kujiraman, who sent another wave of bubbles out.

"Don't let those hit you, they'll turn you into a fish!" Fuyunyan shouted as he flew around the bubbles.

"Well if that's the case, don't worry, I'm already half-fish, so I've only got half as much to worry about as you all!" Ningyo smirked as she gracefully dodged the bubbles.

"I'm pretty sure that doesn't work like that," Keizo muttered, before shaking his head and dodging more bubbles.

* * *

The battle with Kujiraman had eventually lead the heroes to an amusement park, Kujiraman seemed to be growing steadily as they fought against him.

"We've got to figure out how to take this guy out," Keita spoke seriously, holding Spectral Fang tightly, despite the weapon's reliance on yo-kai energy making it not very effective in the realty they were currently in.

"We need to give it everything we've got… but we need to change things up a bit to do that," Yami Kyubi stated seriously, Hanahojin ran over to Fumika, looking straight at Koalanyan.

"Right, we need to do this quick…" Fumika narrowed her eyes, Kujiraman let out another wave of bubbles.

"Is that all this guy does!?" Ningyo exclaimed, Kujiraman roared, starting to jump around and try to attack with its fists.

"Now, why did you have to say that!?" Inaho snapped.

"Now! We need to attack with everything, everyone charge your soultimate, or some form of powerful attack, we need to wipe him out!" Keita shouted, nodding to Fumika, she nodded back and pressed Koalanyan's nose.

"Puku…?"

The attacks were unleashed on Kujiraman before it could react, Kanami covered her eyes at the lightshow that was the combined explosion of all the attacks, Kujiraman screamed one last time, this time the scream that switched the style of reality, just before it exploded, for good…

* * *

When the group came to, they found themselves scattered about the park, Kyubi had returned to his normal form.

"Wow… what an anti-clamactic way to beat a final boss," Inaho huffed as she stood up.

"We unleashed all our attacks at once in a huge explosion! Dani!" USApyon countered.

"Don't know… just didn't feel very… epic," Inaho muttered, USApyon sighed.

"Don't talk to me about things being anti-clamactic, I barely even was part of this battle…" Ningyo grunted.

"That was your own fault," Kyubi commented, Ninyo glared at him.

"Oh, thank goodness that's over with! Zura," Komajiro gave a relieved sigh.

"Yeah, I'm glad we won! Zura!" Komasan cheered.

"Our guts prevailed! Yes!" Keizo exclaimed, Fuyunyan cheered, Keita smiled, before he took notice of a defeated girl on the ground, he approached Kanami carefully.

"… We met your teacher," Kanami looked up at Keita as he stood over her, "She told us about the accident, what happened to you… she also told us that if you work towards rehabilitation, you will dance again, your legs will move, if you just– "

"Shut up!" Kanami clutched her head as she refused to look at the Anchor, "You don't understand anything about me! You don't understand how much I worked towards ballet, only for it to all be taken from me by that accident!"

"But it _wasn't_ all taken from you," Fumika interjected, walking over with Koalanyan and Kyubi, "You're the one that gave up… sorry, that sounded mean," Fumika looked away for a moment, "But it's still the truth, if ballet was really as important to you as you say, shouldn't you put in the effort to go through the rehabilitation process? Even if it might take a few years, you could still dance, you could still fufill your dream…"

"No!" Kanami snapped again, now glaring at the Loopers, "I won't… let my dreams die in this hopeless world… that's why I wanted to erase everything! Erase all of it!"

"Wow, that's dumb!" Inaho stated bluntly as she stepped over.

"Inaho," Keita hissed at the rude comment, Inaho waved him off.

"What? It's true! I'm just saying what you two are too nice to," Inaho looked towards Kanami with a serious look in her eyes, "Look girl, so you got into an accident, now you can't do the thing you love to do, that you worked so hard to be good at; okay, yes, that sucks," Inaho nodded, "But come on, 'erase everything!?' Don't you think that's a bit extreme!? Especially since you were specificially told you _could_ dance again, it's not like you were told it could never happen! But you just disregarded all of that, all the people that supported and cared about you, and almost destroyed both our worlds! Granted, I'm sure the whole 'sky-whale nearly breaks the world' thing wasn't _planned out_ , but still!"

"Inaho, please stop…" Keita groaned, looking back at Kanami, "I mean, she's not _entirely_ wrong, did you really wish to erase _everything_? Even everything and everyone that was important to you…?" Kanami looked at him, glancing at the two other kids, as well as the yo-kai that joined the group, thinking about the people in her life.

"I thought… because I wasn't able to dance, people were separating from me…"

"But you were the one pushing them away, none of them wanted to be apart from you…" Kyubi stated in a calm tone.

"Hardships are a part of life, accidents happen…" Keizo floated over, "But, you had fun practicing ballet, didn't you? You have good memories of these experiences, shouldn't you want to be able to make more of those memories, even if it will take a little extra time and effort?"

"… I was the only the one who gave up on me, wasn't I...?" Kanami muttered after a moment of thought, she began to cry, "Everyone else wanted to support me… I was the only one… that gave up…"

"Puku?" Fumika set down Koalanyan, Kanami stared at him as he approached her, "Puku, puku?"

"Koalanyan came into being because of your feelings too, didn't he?" Fumika stated as Kanami looked at her, "Like Kujiraman, but… Koalanyan didn't want to give up on you, he wanted you to believe in yourself again," Fumika smiled, Kanami kept staring at the little yo-kai, he nodded.

"Puku…"

"… What was I doing this whole time?" Kanami smiled a little, picking up Koalanyan as she stood up.

"Puku?" she gave the blue-furred yo-kai a hug.

"I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused you all…"

"Well I'm not so sure we should be so for– "Inaho smirked as she noticed the others glaring at her, "Just kidding! Of course you're forgiven!"

"Yeah, you weren't in your right mind anyway! Nya!" Jibanyan nodded.

"You are no longer showing any signs of dark power, there is no longer any reason to consider you a threat," Robonyan F-type stated.

"I'm glad you understand…" Keita smiled, "And I'm also glad this is over…"

"Yes, it was quite hectic for a moment there, whiss," Whisper nodded, before he noticed Fumika moving over to another part of the park, while motioning towards Keita for him to follow her.

"Um…?"

"… You probably shouldn't keep her waiting, whiss," Whisper smiled, Keita went a little red, but nodded and went after her, Kyubi floated over to Whisper and watched them with a smirk.

* * *

"So… Keita-kun," Fumika spoke up as they stood beside each other, behind the ferris wheel, "There has been something I've been wanting to talk to you about for a while, and… after everything that just happened, I figure now's as good a time as any…" she smiled at him, he smiled back, "… I know, you like me as more than a friend…"

"Yes, and I know… you like me as more than a friend…" Keita and Fumika both went a little red, "And… the reason we haven't done anything with that for so long is because…"

"… We're both scared?"

"… Yeah," the two nodded to each other, "Scared of things changing…"

"Of things not working out, and us not being able to go back to how we were…" the two nodded again.

"But…" Keita spoke up, "I do want to… give it a try… if you want…"

"Well…" Fumika giggled a little, stepping closer to the boy, "That is why I wanted to talk to you, afterall…" she leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, they both went a deeper shade of red.

"So… are we… together?"

"… I'd say we are," the two smiled wider, before embracing in a hug…

"WHAT!? THAT'S IT!?" Keita and Fumika both nearly jumped at the sudden exclamation, breaking their embrace and turning towards the source of the yell; Inaho, "I've been waiting all this time for you two to FINALLY make it official and start dating already, and THAT'S IT!? A kiss on the check, a hug, and BOOM! YOU'RE TOGETHER!?"

"Inaho…" Keita gave a low growl, the glasses-wearing girl's eyes widened, she backed up a bit.

"And, I will leave you two to your date!" and she sped off, Keita sighed, Fumika put a hand on his shoulder, the two smiled.

* * *

"Thank you all, for helping me remember how much my dream means, to both me, and all those that support me…" Kanami smiled as she stood infront of the hospital while holding Koalanyan, the Loopers, and Fuyunyan, stood before her to say goodbye, Kyubi subtly smirked when he spotted Keita and Fumika holding hands.

After a few farewells, Kanami pressed Koalanyan's nose, and entered the hospital with him, the group of humans and yo-kai watched as the two of them vanished along with the hospital, leaving only the candy store in their place.

"… You know, despite all the craziness… I still have many questions about how this all happened, dani," USApyon sighed, the others nodded a bit…

"I'd say it's not that important, let's just all consider how we can handle this faster when it happens again," Keita and the other Loopers shared a sigh.

"Lucky me for not being a Looper," Fuyunyan smiled.

 **Next Loop**

Fuyunyan, or as his memories told him he was named; Hovernyan, came into consciousness to find he was trapped in a shed again, with his oversized body, a realization dawned on him after a moment.

"I'm back here… I suppose that means I'm Looping now… I don't know if I should be happy about that or not…"

* * *

 **9.1: Inspiritment and making new friends, in the Yo-kai Watch Loops the two go hand-in-hand :3.**

 **9.2: Maybe Nate/Keita should learn to sleep with his eyes open…**

 **9.3: Jibanyan giving a fellow undead feline a bit of advice.**

 **9.4: Yes Manjimut/Jinmenken, watch the language; there are children present… even if they are technically billions of years old.**

 **9.5: Many fun and magical adventures at Luna Nova await, once this is continued. Just don't tell Hailey/Inaho…**

 **9.6: The Council of Looping Pets shall do many cool things! Once they get some more members… This will also be continued in the future.**

 **9.7: Maybe Manjimutt/Jinmenken should rethink his business strategies.**

 **9.8: USApyon; perhaps one of the least intimidating Sith Lords in the Multiverse, until he goes In/Vader Mode…**

 **9.9: Well… I'm sure this will end well.**

 **9.10: At least he's not trying to erase people's memories out of resentment this Loop.**

 **9.11: They don't seem to realize this; but time traveling items don't typically** _ **work**_ **outside of their home Loops, so they're probably going to have to take the long way back…**

 **9.12: USApyon's not the only Sith in the Multiverse, and it seems he may still have a bit to learn.**

 **9.13: Reverse Harem Loop for Katie/Fumika? Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Seems she's no more fond of them than Nate/Keita is of his Harem Loops.**

 **9.14: An unexpected meeting with a new Looper, well the Yo-kai Watch Loopers are happy to help out and try to explain the insanity.**

 **9.15: This is what happens when Loopers get bored… well, one of the infinite possibilities that is… you can't really predict Loopers.**

 **9.16: No, no he is not…**

 **9.17: If nothing else, at least free ice cream is cool.**

 **9.18: Those powers may be useful, at least for preventing more fishing incidents in the future.**

 **9.19: Android Yamada is a kind-hearted android, when his friends are in danger he will act to defend them.**

 **9.20: Emerald's probably thinking 'kind of boring' is kind of fitting for Nate/Keita, but she knows better than to say it out loud…**

 **9.21: Chiyo is sure to use her yo-kai watch to make many, many new friends!**

 **9.22: Whisper and Weiss having a nice discussion, it** _ **is**_ **a little surprising that they haven't really talked before now…**

 **9.23: A brother reacting to his sister dating. A sister teasing her brother about his crush.**

 **9.24: A group of friends getting together in celebration of their lion friend, how nice.**

 **9.25: Nothing like the bond between a girl and her nine-tailed fox-spirit.**

 **9.26: Hailey/Inaho keeps a shipping chart about other Loopers… somehow, this is not surprising.**

 **9.27: A new Expansion, bringing a new yo-kai watch, new friends, and surprisingly; new neighbors!**

 **9.28: Android Yamada is a kind-hearted android, and will stop at nothing to spread that kind-heartedness to** _ **everyone**_ **…**

 **9.29: Harem Loops, seems Nate/Keita can never escape them, doubt even 'harem repellent' would help.**

 **9.30: Yes, it seems even** _ **ghost emus**_ **can be caused by yo-kai…**

 **9.31: Another nice bit of family-time in the Loops.**

 **9.32: As Nate/Keita and Katie/Fumika affirmed their relationship, a resounding 'FINALLY!' seemed to echo throughout the Multiverse. Also, Hovernyan/Fuyunyan is Looping…**

 **A small note: I mentioned in the previous chapter that I wanted to edit the older chapters to add closing comments to those that don't have them, what crossovers are used, and spelling and grammar if needed.**

 **Also; to give each chapter a name, the nonstandard Infinite Tunnel Saga being an exception. I've begun work on that, this chapter and the previous now have their own names, and I'll likely be updating the other chapters from newest to oldest. If a chapter gets a name, that means I've updated it.**

 **There won't be anything added that would require you to go back and reread the chapter, it's just something I felt was worth noting.**


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